Kurimuson Senko
by MattMC3
Summary: Taken in by Minato Namikaze at a young age Naruto excels under his tutelage. While Minato made a name for himself during war Naruto stuck to the shadows where he quickly rose through the ranks. Will Naruto step out of the shadows on his own? Or will he continue to protect those he cares for from the shadows? Jinton refers to the Swift Release...
1. Flash in the Shadows

**Disclaimer: **Naruto is not owned by Matt.

Kurimuson Senko

* * *

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi was sitting at his desk reading over some very startling news involving one of his Chunin. Even the powerful Kami no Shinobi was surprised by what he read so much to the point where he had to read the scroll over twice. This news was rather impactful and if this had happened without him knowing the results would have been disastrous just from the pure shock this event would have happened in the village. Hiruzen made note to give the shinobi that had given him this information a nice raise in payment for their next mission. The Leaf's Fire Shadow pushed tedious thoughts away this issue was of immediate urgency. The experienced mind of Hiruzen went through all of the shinobi who were currently in the village and who could actually fight off the threat they were facing. He couldn't send a team otherwise they wouldn't make it in time. Speed was of the essence but the fastest _known _shinobi Minato Namikaze was out of the village. The famed Kiiroi Senko of the Hidden Leaf was a name that struck terror in every shinobi not affiliated with the Hidden Leaf since the Battle of Kannabi Bridge where he wiped out a platoon of Iwagakure shinobi. However Minato would not be able to help Hiruzen today. Hiruzen then smiled when he realized he still had another shinobi who could help him. "Weasel" The Fire Shadow barked out his voice holding a tremendous amount of authority behind it.

The very next moment a wind blew through the Hokage's office blowing the cloth hanging from the Hokage's hat to left just from its presence. Hiruzen would have smiled at the man's precise timing if not for the grave situation. The man in front of him stood there proudly like a trained warrior, wearing a porcelain mask with the animalistic design of a weasel. The man was wearing the typical black pants and black sleeveless shirt underneath of his grey flak jacket. He was wearing metal arms guards and black gloves as well as shinobi sandals. Around his left thigh was red tape and around his waist were red pouches holding his supplies. From the top of his mask you could see wild, red, spikey hair tipping over the edge of the mask. On his left arm was the Leaf ANBU spiral tattoo and a white cloak fluttering behind him thanks to his entrance. The ANBU Weasel quickly dropped to one knee and looked at the floor. This was the squad leader of the many of the ANBU squads his skills were that well refined. The only reason he had not earned a name in this war was because he did all of his work in the shadows. "Hai Hokage-sama!" The muffled but masculine voice of the 17 year old operative emerged from behind the mask.

"Rise Weasel I have a mission of the upmost importance for you." The ANBU then rose to two feet and looked at his leader to see what it was that he was needed for. Hiruzen let out a small sigh and tossed the scroll to Weasel and let him read it over for himself. "I have been informed of Rin Nohara's kidnapping by shinobi of Kiri. It seems that they have sealed the Sanbi inside of Rin and plan to use her as a time bomb of sorts to cause massive damage on our village hence weakening our war efforts. It seems that they are feigning chasing both Rin and her teammate Kakashi that way that reach the village faster and increase their chance of success. Since Minato is out of the Land of Fire I will need your expertise to both eliminate the Kiri shinobi as well as repair the seal to make sure that she survives." Hiruzen laid out the mission's parameters turning to look out at the village he pulled out his pipe.

"Those are Minato's two students are they not?" The ANBU asked even though his mask was muffling his voice the Hokage could hear the concern in his operative's voice. Hiruzen nodded slowly as he looked in at his village underneath the thin sheet of rain. Weasel simply squeezed the scroll and made it crumple a bit before it was suddenly ash. "I will take my leave then Hokage-sama." Without waiting for confirmation another wind blew through the office which just like his arrival signified his departure. Hiruzen just watched as a blur raced across the roofs to the exit of the village. Hiruzen closed his eyes momentarily and spun back around looking at the small the small pile of ash sitting there on the carpet.

'Good luck…Naruto.'

Naruto was racing through the forests surrounding the village as he raced in a direct line to the coast. If they wanted Rin and Kakashi to get to Konoha quickly they would take the direct line which would collide with his own path. Naruto felt and odd sense of foreboding with the events to come but he quickly shook it off. As long as he moved fast enough he could save his friend's students. 'Just hold on you two, just don't give up. Give me some time and I'll be there in a flash. Just don't give up!' Naruto pushed firmly off the branch leaving two deep impressions of the soles of his feet on the wet bark.

Naruto knew that Minato was out of the village taking care of threats to the village on various war fronts in the northern part of the continent. He remembered before the war that Minato had taken him in from off the streets and trained him to be a talented and reliable shinobi. He took him an orphan with no last name into his home and he and his girlfriend at the time Kushina took him in and gave him a purpose. That was a debt he could never repay but would always do anything for those two. They would always have his undying loyalty and he would give his life for either of them. And at this moment he needed to protect Minato's remaining pupils and that was exactly what he would do. That was when Naruto vanished in a crimson flash.

* * *

A young boy who wore a black T-shirt with white stripes in the middle of the sleeves was running frantically away from a pursuit. On his arms he wears black sleeves with metal arm protectors over them. He also has leather straps around his back and chest, and his family's White Light Chakra Sabre is kept in a small holder out in the back. He wore dark blue pants that were drenched from running a few puddles. His left eye was concealed by a black face mask that went from his jaw to his hair line. This young man was the Hidden Leaf Jounin Kakashi Hatake.

Next to Kakashi was another Leaf shinobi running in tandem with him. This was a young girl of average height. She had brown hair, which was cut in a chin-length bob that framed her face, and brown eyes. She also had a rectangular purple marking on either sides of her cheeks. She wore a long-sleeved black top and an apron-skirt with a light purple hue, under which she wore black shorts. She wore the standard Konoha forehead protector showing allegiance to the Hidden Leaf, along with a pair of sandals, red stockings that stopped at her thighs. She also had a small, red bracelet on her left wrist. This was Rin Nohara, a Leaf medic-nin.

Dropping into a wide opening Rin suddenly came to halt surprising her teammate with her rather sudden action. Rin turned to Kakashi with a sad look painted on her face as rain drops dripped from her cheeks. "Kakashi we need to stop here or else Konoha will pay. I overheard their plan for me and as soon as we near Konoha the time seal the placed on me will be released and the Sanbi will go on a rampage and kill so many innocent people." Rin paused as her tears mixed in with the rain sliding down her cheeks as she looked at her last teammate.

Kakashi's one visible eye widened when he caught on to the tone that Rin was using and it was a tone that filled the young Jounin with dread. His hands began to tremble when he came to the very conclusion that Rin was placing forth. "Rin no you can't give up already there are plenty of strong ninja back home that can tame the Tailed Beast. There is no need to sacrifice yourself like this! All we need to do is keep going!" Kakashi begged his teammate to keep fighting and live on. There was no way he could lose another teammate to this damned war, he wouldn't let that happen.

Rin opened her mouth to give a negative response to the silver haired Jounin's words when the contingent of Kirigakure shinobi dropped into the clearing. Both Leaf shinobi quickly wheeled around and glared at their new opponents. Acting quickly Kakashi lifted up his facemask to reveal a three tomoe Sharingan. Rin though hesitant did eventually drop into a combat stance as well. A few of the Mist shinobi had their faces covered with porcelain masks with thin slits for eyeholes. These were ANBU of the Hidden Mist and the others looked to be Jounin level. It was then that dire situation hit the Kakashi and Rin.

They were outnumbered and out skilled…

It was then that one of the Mist Jounin stepped forward with a blue bandana covered his brown hair that fell over most of his eyes. There was a pinstriped material which each of the shinobi wore as bracers and greaves which then seemed to merge into their sandals. Underneath this, they wear a full-black shirt and pants over which they wear the villages' standard grey flak jacket. Some also wear waist-guards. This was the attire of the Jounin level shinobi of Kiri. He had a smug grin plastered on his pale face as he strolled forward. "Well it looks like the little girl wants to throw a wrench in our plans eh boys?" He started chuckling darkly as he continued walking forward. "Don't worry guys I'll kill the silver haired boy then knock out the little girl and we can bring her to the Leaf ourselves, not like it matters! Oh and don't interfere! "

Kakashi tensed for battle and freed his father's sabre and rushed forward trying to take the initiative and catch the man off guard. The Mist shinobi grinned when he saw the boy rush at him and pulled out a kunai and went to clash with Kakashi. Kakashi using his Sharingan to predict his opponent's movements lowers himself slightly to slash up at the taller man. The Mist shinobi using his experience saw the move coming a mile away brought his kunai down and kicked Kakashi straight in the gut sending him tumbling into a puddle. Walking forward with his kunai readied he planned on stabbing the boy while he was down.

"**Water Release: Gunshot!"**

Only a few steps away from Kakashi the Mist shinobi was suddenly slammed into by a concentrated glob of water from the side. Groaning the man stood up and glared at the girl who still had her hands together collected her chakra. 'That took more time to gather because of Sanbi's sealing. But that turtle seems to have made my Water affinity much stronger.' Rin went over the new information in her head. Rin looked over to see Kakashi standing up again as well as the Mist Jounin. She quickly looked over to see his comrades standing there watching the fight for their amusement.

The Kirigakure shinobi snarled at Rin and moved to attack her for her interference and just kill her on the spot forgetting about the plan. He was stopped when Kakashi barreled into him from the side using both of their respective momentums to bring the larger man to the ground. Raising his leg up Kakashi brought down his heel straight into the man's gut making him spit up blood. Kakashi brought his sabre across the man's throat slashing it and effectively ending his life. Or at least that was the plan but instead he found that he had cut through a log showing his enemy had substituted out. Kakashi looked to his left to see his opponent weaving through hand signs. Kakashi knew he was too late when he saw the man ending his signs but luckily Rin had seen the efforts and had jumped in front of Kakashi.

"**Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"**

"**Water Release: Water Encampment Wall!"**

Just before the maw of the dragon that was shooting towards the pair could hits its mark a large wall of water shot upwards and surrounded the young Leaf shinobi. From his side the Mist shinobi grit his teeth in frustration as he saw his technique be swallowed up harmlessly by the little girl's defensive jutsu. On the Leaf's side of the wall of water Rin watched as Kakashi went through the hand signs for his original jutsu. Kakashi focused his Sharingan to distinguish the enemy's chakra and locked on to it. Rin saw that Kakashi was focusing on one spot and guessed what he was thinking and opened a hole in the wall and Kakashi leapt through the thin space with a chirping sound accompanying him.

"**Chidori"**

The Mist shinobi didn't have any time to move when the silver haired boy flew from the wall of water. In the moment all that was heard in the clearing was a squelching sound followed by the chirping of the Chidori slowly dying out. The man's eyes initially widened in surprise as the life slowly faded out of the man's aqua, green eyes. Kakashi wretched his hand out of the man's heart pulling his hand and forearm from the now corpse, looking down at his arm which was now coated he let out a small sigh. He moved back to stand by Rin's side eyeing the other Mist shinobi carefully.

Then from nowhere the Mist hunter-nin began to clap for the young pair's efforts in defeating their comrade. The Mist ANBU walked forward followed by two of the other Mist ANBU as his emotionless mask stared directly at Kakashi and the Sanbi's Jinchuuriki, unnerving the both of them. "Well done children you managed to defeat my cocky comrade here." The man's cold voice praised them as his mask looked down at the corpse before kicking it from his path like it was a piece of trash. "Unfortunately for you my friends and I won't make that mistake and then your precious village will be destroyed!" The man grinned evilly behind his mask as he saw his words begin to take effect.

Rin's eyes quickly became dull once more when the realization that what the man had just said was indeed true. She softly grabbed Kakashi's shoulder to draw his attention which worked when he looked over at her still mindful of their enemies. "Kakashi use your Chidori on me. This way we can stop their plan and save the Leaf." Rin said in the most determined voice Kakashi had ever heard from the normally sweet girl. Kakashi looked away from her and began running through the hand signs once more but for what reason only he knew. Kakashi was about to complete the jutsu when a new voice swept across the field.

"Now, now that won't be necessary." A new voice echoed over the deathly quiet opening and put all members of the battle on high alert. In a blink of an eye a grand tornado suddenly formed around the two Konoha shinobi. The walls of wind were so thick that the Mist shinobi could not see what was happening inside of the eye of the tornado. Naruto then appeared in front of Kakashi and Rin still dressed fully in the ANBU except for his mask which was half way off exposing one of his oceanic blue eyes and some of his hair. "Are you two alright?" Naruto's voice held a great amount of concern. He wouldn't forgive himself if they were hurt badly.

"Naruto-Nii-san…" Kakashi managed to gasp out surprised by the older teen's appearance on the battlefield. Naruto nodded at the young Jounin before looking over to an equally surprised Rin and giving her a soft half smile because of his mask. Taking his hand and moving his mask to fully cover his face assuming his full ANBU appearance once again. Seeing that the two were okay Naruto rose to his feet and went through a string of hand signs. Kakashi and Rin looked at Naruto's back with confusion not entirely understanding what he was about to do. That was until Naruto planted his palms on the muddy ground.

"**Wind Release: Four Winds Barrier."**

The winds of the tornado blew away allowing the Mist pursuit squad to look at the two Konoha shinobi and the now revealed Leaf ANBU. They could see one of the two kids' mouths moving but could not hear what the words were. Naruto from behind his Weasel mask spoke in a tone that stated that he was the superior officer here on the field. "You two will stay here while I deal with the Mist." With his piece said Naruto began walking towards the wall of his barrier jutsu. Kakashi looked at him with both of his eyes wide thinking that his surrogate brother was walking out to his death.

"Let me help you!" Kakashi's voice came out as a pleading one not wanting his brother to have fight all of these men alone. He was a Jounin, he had the Sharingan, he was a prodigy, and he could help. Naruto stopped in his tracks when he heard the tone of voice that Kakashi was using. It was a tone of someone who felt like they were being doubted and wanted to prove their worth. It was a tone he was quite familiar with since he had used that very tone growing up thanks to those who looked at him like he was just trash.

Naruto turned his head so that his Weasel mask was staring at Kakashi giving the boy his full field of vision. If Kakashi would have been able to see behind Naruto's mask he would have seen the smile Naruto was giving him. "No Kakashi you stay here with Rin. You both have done well in getting this far and fighting off that Mist Jounin. Your parts in this are complete and now it's my turn. All you need to do is watch and don't blink you might miss something." Naruto replied in a relaxed voice as he walked past the wall of wind not bothering to hear a reply from either of his subordinates.

Walking calmly Naruto stopped in front of the contingent of Kirigakure shinobi with his mask staring at them displaying no emotion. Reaching behind him and into one of his pouches Naruto pulled out a kunai but this was no normal kunai. This kunai was elongated and at its point it curled into a hook. Bring his hand back he revealed his hand to the enemies in front of them and just stared at them with an unrelenting stare and with no movement. The Kiri ANBU who had spoken before couldn't hold his tongue any longer. "Is this some kind of joke?! One ANBU against thirty of us, what is it you think you'll be able to do?" This exclamation got a round of snickers and laughter from the Mist shinobi behind him.

Naruto to his credit did not even visibly react to the man's taunting he stood there not moving with his hooked kunai gleaming ominously in the moonlight. Naruto sat there listening to the men and women continuing to take jabs at he or Kakashi and Rin. Then like a switch that was flipped everything came back to him. It was these shinobi in front of him that planned to kill Kakashi and use Rin for their selfish means. They were hurting people he considered family and to him an orphan that was the most important thing he could ever had. Tightening his grip on the hooked kunai Naruto lowered himself closer to the ground.

"**Jinton: Shadow Soaring."**

Naruto's voice was a whisper, a whisper that was easily drowned out from all of the laughter coming from the direction. Even though it really didn't matter since all of these shinobi would be dead in moments. Naruto vanished in a crimson flash as he in a feat of pure speed appeared in the shadow of the ANBU spokesman of the group and buried his kunai in the back of the man's neck and appeared back in his original spot. To Naruto he was moving at a normal speed but to Kakashi, Rin and the Mist forces he was there one moment then there was a crimson flash and then the ANBU fell over dead and then in another flash he was there as if he hadn't moved at all. This all had happened ten times faster than a bolt of lightning striking the earth. Rin and Kakashi had their jaws hanging because they had never seen Naruto work as he always stuck to ANBU work. The Mist nin all stared at the Weasel ANBU with wide fearful eyes since all they could see was a crimson flash.

"It can't be there is another one of them?!" An obviously frightened voice screamed out from within the crowd of shinobi. It was that first fearful exclamation that set off a whole clamoring of shouts and refusals. Naruto just readied his hook kunai and in a third flash Naruto continued his speed assault appearing in the shinobi's shadows slashing their throats and moving on to his next target in a brutal efficiency. In the blink of the eye the group of thirty Mist ninja was reduced to fifteen and the Leaf ANBU that had done them in had nothing marking he did a thing other than his bloodied, hooked kunai.

The still living Kirigakure shinobi were all looking down at their dead comrades in disbelief literally just a moment ago they were all drawing breath and then they were not. Naruto decided to take advantage of the shock of them thinking he had used the Hiraishin. Evening out his hand out Naruto pointed his five fingertips at the remaining shinobi and readied his next move. The sound of crackling started to ring out of in the silent clearing drawing a few of the Kiri shinobi's attention while others kept the gaze on the piles of bodies that were effectively breaking their will to fight the monster in front of them. "What are you!?"

"**Lightning Release: Lightning Senbon"**

As those muffled words came from behind Naruto's mask five small thin points of condensed lightning formed into senbons each one hovering in front of his fingertips. Pushing forward swiftly the five senbon shot forward at a break neck speed towards the shinobi. The shinobi who were looking at Weasel managed to shift out of the way of the incoming projectiles. Unfortunately for five men who were not looking got punctured by the lightning senbons and quickly fell over dead. Naruto was the only who knew that it wasn't the immediate impact that killed them but the jolt of electricity that went straight to their heart that did them in. The once confident group of thirty shinobi was no more than ten and they were much wearier of the Leaf ANBU.

"Are we just going to stand here and get slaughtered or are we going to kill this Leaf runt and continue on to destroy that damned village?" One of the charismatic shinobi cried in hopes to rebuild their fighting spirit. This got a chorus of cheers and loud shouts of agreement to his words. Each of the remaining shinobi went through two sets of hand signs ready to drown the lone Leaf ANBU. Naruto watched as some puddles rose up and began to take another form and other shinobi's cheeks puff out. Naruto showed no signs of concern as he watched the attacks finished and readied to be fired.

"**Water Release: Water Dragon!"**

"**Water Release: Water Bullets!"**

Kakashi and Rin watched in horror as the water attacks collided on top of Naruto and the water exploded and shot up in the air like a geyser. There was so much water along with the rain that the water level had risen a few inches apart from where Kakashi and Rin stood. The Mist nin stood there with pleased expressions as the watched the geyser start to fall back towards the Earth. Their postures all relaxed believing that they had finally taken care of the masked monster from the Leaf. The water finally subsided revealing a large crater that was filled with the water from the techniques but there wasn't a body. All of their eyes widened when they heard a quiet voice behind them.

"**Wind Release: Great Breakthrough."**

A sudden gale of wind started to blow from behind Naruto and went to the backs of his opponents from the Mist. One of the Mist nin with a hunter-nin mask was able to avoid it by instinct when he leaped high into the air, most likely with chakra. However the remaining nine shinobi from Kirigakure were not as lucky. The sudden blast of wind smashed into each of their backs and launched them forwards into the barrier holding Rin and Kakashi. The pressure of the constant wind on their backs and the firm barrier pressing against their chest became too much as the strength behind the clashing forces compressed their organs and killed them in small pools of blood.

The one Kiri shinobi who managed to avoid the attack looked down at the battlefield that was now littered with the bodies of his comrades. Behind his mask he looked at the corpses sadly because he knew they weren't ready for this. They were only promoted to these positions because the war demanded it of them. The hunter-nin then looked at the Leaf ANBU who was still looking forward at the bodies that lay in front of him. Releasing his tanto, the Mist shinobi altered the trajectory of his flight so that it allowed him to bring his tanto down on the red hair of the ANBU. The Mist shinobi was hoping to take advantage of the apparent lapse of concentration. The blade was centimeters from Naruto's skull when he disappeared in a crimson flash and the blade went through the crimson shaded light.

A second crimson flash appeared behind the Mist shinobi higher in the air. Out of the flash came Naruto with a blue glow bathing the side of his Weasel mask. In his hand was an orb of chakra that was compacted so that it was swirling within the orb. "You asked what I was earlier… I guess I'm just a flash in the shadows." Naruto whispered from above but the Kiri nin still heard his words clearly. Naruto just fell downwards holding the orb in front of him and bringing it down on the enemy shinobi's lower back sending him spiraling down to the ground. When the man's body came crashing down into the mud below the two Naruto whispered out the technique as he dropped to the ground landing on his feet.

"**Rasengan"**

Looking at the now dead contingent of Mist shinobi there were no emotions on Naruto's face behind the mask. 'This is what you have earned for trying to hurt my family and this is what you will continue to earn.' Naruto turned on his heel and began to walk towards Rin and Kakashi putting his hands in the sign to release the barrier. Naruto stopped in front of them and crouched slightly so he could look them in their eyes. Bringing up his hand Naruto took off his mask and clipped it to his belt and looked at the two with a soft smile. He wasn't surprised when Rin immediately closed the distance and enclosed him a hug. He returned the hug knowing how much this probably took out of the kind hearted girl. He just held on to her until she pulled away and gave him a smile. Naruto though was surprised when Kakashi hugged him as well but that surprised was erased when he heard Kakashi mutter a thank you. Now it made sense he thought he was going to lose another friend. Naruto looked at the two and put a hand on their shoulders and the three Leaf shinobi vanished in a flash of crimson.

* * *

The three Leaf shinobi reappeared inside of a cave that was lit rather well, and had various seals running along the rocky walls of the cave. Kakashi and Rin looked at the cave in awe never before seeing a place like this before. Naruto chuckled at their reactions because he remembered seeing this place for the first time during an ANBU mission. Naruto waited for their surprise to die down before he would get to the second part of his mission. It only took a few minutes for the younger shinobi to come back to Earth to see Naruto looking at them with mirth in his eyes.

"Now that you two have calmed down we can fix that seal of yours Rin. Now from what I heard your seal is a Timed Release Seal. Those seals aren't meant for containment so I'll be able to overpower that seal with my own and it will keep the Sanbi from being released at all. Though you will need to do some work on your chakra control since you have to get used to the extra chakra. You're really lucky if you were a few years older or they sealed a stronger Tailed Beast inside of you your chakra coils wouldn't have been able to take the stress. I've done enough talking. Where is the seal at Rin?"

Rin immediately went red at the question of the seals location and her hand went to behind her left shoulder. Naruto and Kakashi both saw this and Naruto then pieced together why she was blushing as such. Naruto turned from his seat and looked at the silver haired Jounin with a small smile. "Kakashi would you mind going outside and guarding us so that no one can interfere with the sealing?" Naruto asked and Kakashi nodded and walked out of the cave. Naruto looked over at Rin before quickly putting his chakra into the cave watching as the seals all lit up in a consecutive fashion.

Naruto finished activating the seal looked over to see Rin staring at the seals with an inquisitive expression. Naruto waited for her to look at him before he would begin the explanation of the seals. "This is a place outside of Konoha, known as the Sealing Cave. This is where the Leaf seals Tailed Beasts into a selected human, usually a child. Some of the seals act as a strong barrier to prevent outsides from interrupting the sealing process while others act as chakra suppressors that way the Tailed Beasts chakra won't leak into the atmosphere. Basically this is a place to make sure others like you are safe." Naruto ended with a warm smile that made Rin feel better about the whole thing. Naruto motioned for Rin to come to the table a little further back in the cave. "Now please remove your shirt and lay on your stomach so I can stabilize your seal." Naruto stated while turning around to give Rin her privacy while also thinking about the seal options he could use.

'I should probably use Five Layered that Kushina taught me. This way Rin will be able to access the Sanbi's chakra and help her get stronger The Eight Trigram seal would be too powerful for the Sanbi.' Naruto nodded and turned when he heard Rin say it was okay for him to do so. The young ANBU's eyes immediately honed in on the seal on her left shoulder. The seal was rather simplistic in its design. The seal had the Kiri insignia in the center of a square with jagged lines running from the corners of the four parts of the insignia to the four corners of the square. Naruto assumed that once the time limit was reached the jagged lines would break and then the Sanbi would be unleashed.

Naruto closed his eyes and performed the few hand signs that were required of him to perform the sealing. Gathering his chakra in his palm and fingertips Naruto placed his hand over the Time Release seal and began to alter the seal slowly and carefully. Under his palm his chakra begin to slowly crawl up the chains on the seal turning them to a light blue as one by one they started to break. When the last one started to erase under his chakra Naruto poured much more chakra into the process. He knew the giant turtle would still be tired from being sealed the first time but he didn't want to take any chances with this delicate process. Feeling the last restraint snap and a sudden push of chakra Naruto wasted no time in replacing the seal before the beast got too lively.

"**Five Layered Seal"**

Naruto exclaimed as he pushed back on the Sanbi's will and chakra with the aid of the seal to help him in the fight. Rin groaned in pain when she felt the Sanbi fight back but the pain was soon soothed when she felt another chakra slowly subduing the beast's fit. Naruto kept his palm firm in its spot as sweat started to trickle from his brow. He felt the chakra leaving his system at a frantic rate and was glad that he had such large reserves. They were not anything like a Jinchuuriki's but they were large in their own right. Now it also made sense why the Uzumaki were so good with sealing thanks to their vast reserves they could come up with the most dangerous of sealing techniques.

The sealing process took a half an hour because Naruto wanted to make sure that he sealed the beast away properly otherwise it could mentally affect Rin. Finishing the final touches Naruto pulled back his palm and looked down at his Fuinjutsu. Five pentagons were layered over each other each expanding slightly further than the previous layer. Each pentagon was connected to the one before it so that the chakra of the beast could be channeled. In the center of the first and largest pentagon was the Uzumaki swirl indicating that it was an Uzumaki seal that was used. "There we go Rin your seal is complete and ready to go." Naruto said panting as he sat back in a chair. Rin nodded and kept her back to the elder shinobi as she put back on her shirt covering up the seal. Naruto cut the seals along the cave and sighed when he felt some of the chakra from the cave seals return back to him giving him a much needed energy boost.

Rin turned around and looked directly at the tired but still smiling Naruto and gave him happy smile of her own. "Thank you so much Naruto-kun! I can't thank you enough!" These words were very true because once she was captured by those Kiri shinobi she never thought she would live to see her home again. Then when she heard about Kiri's plan to use her to eradicate her home she was determined to prevent that from happening. She would prevent that from happening in any way even if that meant she would die. Then Naruto arrived and saved her and Kakashi from the burdens that were about to be placed on their shoulders and he did it with a smile on his face.

Naruto stood up still tired from the sealing process but none the less he was ready to report back to the Hokage. Naruto smiled widened a bit thanks to Rin's heartfelt show of gratitude and he just waved a hand while rubbing the back of his neck. "No need to thank me. I couldn't let anything happen to you two." Naruto replied slightly embarrassed by the genuine show of emotions since he was used to getting the job done and then returning to the shadows. Naruto getting over the embarrassment moved over to the exit of the cave with Rin in step. "C'mon let's get Kakashi and then get back home."

* * *

"What do you mean Kakashi-kun and Rin-chan are being chased by Kiri shinobi!?" An angry feminine voice yelled out in the office of the Hokage. The voice belonged to one Kushina Uzumaki the wife of one Minato Namikaze. Her hair seemed to sway as she seethed in anger at what Sarutobi had told her. It was no secret that she thought of her husband's students as children of her own. A murderous aura enveloped her that made even the renowned Kami no Shinobi, Hiruzen Sarutobi sweat and fear for his life. The ANBU in the shadows all felt pity for the older Fire Shadow as they kept clear of the woman's rage.

The Hokage was paling rapidly and was cursing himself for starting off with that line and now he couldn't get a word in edge wise. His eyes quickly darted over to Minato who was looking at him seriously waiting for more information. Minato seeing they couldn't get anything else if his wife continued on as such. Minato placed a hand on Kushina's shoulder drawing her attention his eyes showing that she needed to calm down. Kushina seeing her husband's intense gaze relaxed allowing Hiruzen to continue on telling them the details of what was happening with Kakashi and Rin. Hiruzen leaned forward and laced his fingers in front of his chin.

"Like I was saying before the interruption, Kakashi and Rin are being pursued by a contingent of Kiri shinobi so I sent Na-" Before Hiruzen could finish he saw a crimson flash behind Minato and Kushina. The other two shinobi quickly wheeled around feeling three more chakra signatures in the room with them. Both Kushina and Minato smiled brightly when their eyes quickly went to the Kakashi and Rin. Kushina being the more energetic of the two quickly ran up and dropped to her knees pulling the two into a tight hug. Naruto smiled behind his mask when he saw the kids squirming in the tight hug and stepped back towards the wall. Minato crouched behind Kushina and placed a hand on her shoulder as he looked fondly at his two students and wife. Naruto stood there silently watching the happy reunion from behind his mask drawing no attention to himself.

The experienced of eye of Hiruzen though took note of Naruto's presence and he smiled sadly as he watched the boy stand there trying to blend in with the wall. He knew the boy well, he knew that not only was he the best ANBU he had and at the young age of seventeen but he also knew that he had a great personality behind that mask of his. Hiruzen out his pipe in his mouth and lit it with a Fire Release technique as his eyes kept on Naruto. No matter what he tried he couldn't get Naruto to step from the shadows. He would always say that he didn't need fame or a reputation and that he was comfortable being anonymous. Of course he was tempted to force Naruto into the spotlight but ultimately decided against since Naruto was happy with his position.

Naruto seeing enough of the happenings turned around and moved to walk towards the door since his mission was complete. Hiruzen saw this and wanted to say something to the young boy. He wanted to thank him for his excellent work since he never was able to before he would vanish. It saddened him that Naruto would be like that until someone would take the time to change him. He would love to help the boy but he was busy running the village and trying to keep the power hungry civilians at bay. He knew Minato and Kushina were always together but at various battlefields during the war. He even asked a few ANBU captains about their commander and they would say he always issue his orders and then disappear. The problem with that was Naruto would always suppress his signature and wherever he was cancelled out his Crystal Ball Viewing Technique.

Naruto was only a few steps from the door when he saw a red blur flash in front of him and a breeze hit his face. He quickly found himself in an embrace that made him tense up until he saw the familiar red hair of Kushina. His arms were at his sides and his eyes were wide staring at the door. Kushina had her chin resting on Naruto's shoulder and her arms wrapped around Naruto's neck with one hand holding his Weasel mask. "You know Naru-kun when someone hugs you; you're supposed to hug back?" Kushina whispered playfully so that only Naruto would hear her. She of course knew about Naruto's personality, he was so selfless and requested no credit for the things he had done.

Minato watched from behind his students with a smile of his own glad that Kushina had managed to nab him before he left. He too knew of his personality and his lack of desire for attention. He had been that way since he had found him on the streets in a village in the Land of Lightning. He was quiet and meek but he eventually warmed up and showed him his brilliant personality. He could never get Naruto to take credit for things he did though during training since he would always deflect the credit towards him being a great sempai.

Naruto getting over the initial wave of surprise slowly brought his arms up and hugged Kushina back as his eyes softened. He never was one who received that much physical affection since he never knew his parents. In the orphanage he was given kind words by the kids and the matron but it burned down a few months after his arrival. Naruto relaxed into the older woman's embrace as he accepted the kindness and warmth she seemed to emanate. "Thank you for saving Kakashi and Rin, Naru-kun. I know Minato and I haven't been around much because of the war and that you have been alone but we will always be here. You're only seventeen you don't need to hide everything from us. We are your family and will always have a spot for you in our family and hearts." Kushina whispered comforting words into his ear trying to pry him from the attitude of isolation. He would only show his true side when Minato or she were around so he didn't have any friends, being an ANBU didn't help either.

Naruto for his part kept silent as he stared at the doorway to the office with watery eyes as Kushina's words rang in his mind. Never before had anyone said something so kind to him and offered him what she did besides Minato did the day they had met. There were people who had offered him things out of pity or others who offered him a place because of his skills but not love. It took all of his emotional training to keep his shoulders from shaking as he was a maelstrom of emotions. He did squeeze Kushina a little tighter as a single tear roll down his cheek and a wide smile broke across his face. He nodded showing he understood her words and she smiled when she felt him nod.

Kushina released him from the hug and turned back to the others in the room each wearing smiles for their own reasons. Kushina quickly ran and took Rin's and Kakashi's hands and pulled them to the door. "C'mon everyone we're having dinner at our home tonight! No arguments got it?!" Kakashi and Rin quickly nodded as they were pulled through the door by the energetic red head. Hiruzen, Minato and Naruto all watched in amusement as the three were quickly gone from the room. Minato walked over to Naruto and slung an arm over his shoulder looking at the boy he found ten years ago with a proud smile. It was a smile that a father would give to his son after an accomplishment. Hiruzen who was behind the desk for the whole thing allowed a similar smile to stretch across his face happy to see Naruto having a system of support in his life otherwise his heart would become empty. Naruto and Minato walked out following after their company for the night with matching smiles.

* * *

**AN: Here's a story. Yes I cleared up that Naruto was not using Flying Thunder God but he did have the ability to use the Rasengan. Also I gave a bit of Naruto's origins! Read it, then review! Ja Ne-Matt**


	2. New Fire, Same Shadow

**Disclaimer: **Matt does not own Naruto. Do you know how depressing it is that I need to admit this each time?

**AN: **White Zetsu: Hello! Black Zetsu: **Hello.**

Also the beginning part of this chapter is the explanation to Obito and what happens to him. I couldn't really call it a flashback so I thought I would let you know here! To the story!

* * *

Kurimuson Senko

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**Madara's Cave before Naruto's arrival**

Madara Uchiha was a man feared throughout the shinobi world as a man whose only equal was Hashirama Senju. He was a man thought to have passed on from this world. A man with a worn and stressed face, his hair was thin and snow white. He wore a simple black outfit, and had three thick chords running from his spine cord, to the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path to sustain his life, and used his kama as a makeshift cane. This man was Madara Uchiha the founder of the Uchiha clan and he was connected to the Gedo Mazo. The elderly Uchiha's eyes were closed in relaxation until a plant like structure grew from the ground. This was his right-hand man Zetsu. The only living being that knew the entirety of his plants to create a world of dreams by using the Moon's surface to reflect an infinite Tsukuyomi upon the world where he was Kami. Tapping his kama on the cave floor creating a loud tapping he opened his eyes to gaze upon the being in front of him.

The being that emerged from the cave floor had two large venus fly-trap like extensions that when closed together envelop his head and upper body, giving him the appearance of a plant. With his head revealed at the moment he showed his green hair that was cut short with his small, yellow eyes. The being's left half of his body was white in color while his right side was black in direct contrast. The two opposing colors end up splitting his body directly down the middle creating two symmetrical colored sides. Despite his lack of facial expressions he could tell that Zetsu had something important to say.

Madara stared at Zetsu who just stared back at the ancient Uchiha without saying a word. This only made Madara sigh inwardly he was really getting to old for this sort of thing but he would never admit that since he was Madara Uchiha. "What is it Zetsu?" Madara inquired in a strict voice since he already knew the artificial being had found something. He was the best spy in the Elemental Nations or that was what he created to be in the first place and the fact that he found something already was very promising to say the least.

Zetsu was Madara's first human creation using the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and he was implanted with intelligence. The white half was created using a living clone of his greatest rival Hashirama Senju. It was that DNA that allowed Zetsu to manipulate the wood like he was able to this point. Of course it wasn't to the point of the Shodai Hokage but it still allowed him to continue his spy work. It was the white half of Zetsu that represented the cells of the First God of Shinobi. With the cells Zetsu's white half also took after the First Hokage personality wise which slightly irked the ancient Uchiha.

Now Madara had planned on inserting the physical manifestation of his will into Zetsu upon his death but he had severely underestimated his rival's annoying streak. Just so he could shut up the incessant chattering Madara infused his will to balance out the clone of Hashirama with a clone of his own. These two weren't on par with he or Hashirama but they did inherent their extremely clashing personalities. He preferred to speak with his clone because he was direct and blunt while Hashirama's half seemed to enjoy chattering on about things that were completely irrelevant. This was the only way he could keep himself from destroying the two with a Fire jutsu and he wouldn't even care that it would harm his body beyond repair.

Something interesting happened during the creation process though and still to this day Madara never understood how this happened. After the process was complete Madara found out that Zetsu could mask his chakra to the point that even the best sensor nin would not be able to locate him. The only exceptions that he knew of were the few Uzumaki who had inherited the Mind's Eye of the Kagura. (**AN: **No not even Madara knows of the Kyuubi's ability to sense hatred.) He could even make his chakra signature match another person's chakra signature perfectly after having contact with them which made infiltration and espionage quite easy for him.

"It seems that the Hidden Leaf has gotten wind of Kiri's plans for the new Jinchuuriki of the Sanbi **and have sent an ANBU operative to deal with the problem. These Kiri ninja won't stand a chance **against the ANBU because they were **wartime promotions.**" Both parts of Zetsu relayed what was no doubt currently happening to the contingent of Kiri shinobi. Before coming back to Madara Zetsu was able to catch a brief measure of the oncoming shinobi's power and through his chakra reserves he knew it was an ANBU. Now he wondered how his master would fix the problem to their plan to warp Obito to their goals.

Madara just continued to stare at Zetsu and if Zetsu was anyone else he would of asked the first Uchiha patriarch if he had heard him but Zetsu knew Madara was already moving to solve their hindrances. 'If Obito sees that those two teammates of his are still alive there is no way he will continue my Eye of the Moon. It seems like we will have to show him something to make his hatred grow. Even you Obito are expendable for the sake of a world of dreams.' Madara whose eyes had been shut during his inner workings snapped open and gazed at Zetsu with the intensity of a hawk which unnerved White Zetsu but Black Zetsu remained stoic. "Zetsu return to the battlefield quickly and make contact with the two of his teammates so you can use your Parasite Clones of them and the Kiri Ninja so we may show Obito the hatred of this world." Zetsu just gave his superior a simple nod and melted back into the ground to carry out his orders.

* * *

Zetsu arrived back at the battlefield just in time to watch the Weasel masked ANBU's mask bathed in a faint blue glow as the word Rasengan. Zetsu quickly scanned the battlefield and saw Obito's teammates behind a barrier of wind. It shouldn't prove to be too difficult for him to just appear inside of. Zetsu saw that the ANBU was about to end the one-sided battle and quickly merged back into the ground and came out on the other side of the barrier. Sticking out his hand Zetsu lightly placed one of his fingers on each of the two Leaf shinobi who were enthralled with seeing the ANBU dispatching of the Kiri forces. Zetsu took note that the battle was now over Zetsu quickly melted back into the ground and waited in the tree line for the three Leaf shinobi to exit the scene of the battle. Moving swiftly through the field of corpses Zetsu took the memory of each of their chakra's before they were extinguished thanks to their deaths. Going through a stream of hand signs Zetsu said in his split voices.

"**Earth Release: Sinkhole"**

The ground around Zetsu start to turn grainy and soft allowing the bodies started to slide down a sandy, downward slope. Zetsu being at the center of the sinkhole watched as each of the thirty or so odd bodies slid down towards his position where upon arrival each sunk below the sandy earth. When the corpses that would give away the plan were gone Zetsu canceled the jutsu by releasing his hold on the Snake seal. Channeling some more of its chakra Zetsu's white half started to extend from its ribs and face before splitting off multiple times. This continued until Zetsu recreated the numbers of the Kiri ninja and the boy and girl from the Hidden Leaf.

"**Parasitic Clones"**

The Zetsu clones, who were under impersonation, looked at their creator with the gazes of the respective people whom they took after waiting for their orders. Zetsu mentally gave them their command to recreate a scene that would push Obito into a world of darkness. Each of the parasite clones knew what they had to do; now all that was left to wait for their audience to arrive at the scene. Zetsu moved back to the tree line and decided to watch how this all would play out since he wanted to see an Uchiha lose himself to their legacy of hatred.

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Just moments after Zetsu had finished his work another set of presences jumped onto the fringe of the battlefield to see what was happening. The figure was wearing a long, black cloak that covered his body all the way to his ankles. His black hair was grown out wildly to the point where it looked like Madara's when Madara's hair still had color in it. The man's face was covered in a white mass that swirled in to only reveal his right eye which was blazing with three tomoe in it, his Sharingan. It expanded in happiness when he saw his two friends still alive as they stared down the Kiri shinobi in front of them. This was Obito Uchiha.

Kakashi or the parasitic clone Kakashi when through a few hand signs before his hand was immersed in an electrical current that sounded like a thousand chirping birds. This was his new, yet imperfect jutsu Chidori. In the tree line Zetsu was relieved that when the clones absorbed the chakra from their targets that their chakra took after the ones whom they absorbed from because a jutsu like that would be impossible for him an artificial being with the elements of Earth and Water. What was possible was for him to replicate the jutsu he had seen Kakashi go through earlier. This was only possible because it was imperfect so he could do it for this brief showcase for Obito.

Then something happened that would ensure Obito fell into the path of darkness forever, never to be found or saved because once an Uchiha fell into their hatred it was final. Obito watched as the love of his life, Rin threw herself in front of a charging Kakashi and ran herself through with the assassination jutsu. Kakashi in shock fell to his knees as he watched Rin fall to the muddy ground with a fist sized hole in her. As Kakashi fell to the ground as well from massive mental trauma the Kiri nin murmured to themselves before coming to a consensus. They decided that in order to gather intel they would collect the temporary Jinchuuriki's body and take it with them to Kiri. Of course Zetsu made sure they were loud enough so Obito could hear them.

Obito couldn't believe what he had just seen because in the span of only a handful of seconds he was smiling seeing everyone he cared for in front of him and then only a second later the one person he cared for the most was killed by the person he saw as his best friend. It was all of this that put him in a state shock. A shock in which he was broken out of thanks to the Kiri shinobi's words of taking Rin's body. That shock was then replaced into an immense anger and hatred that physically influenced his body. The three tomoe in his red eye started to slowly expand until the converged in the center and took the appearance of a black triangle with a hole in the center. Each elongated tip of the triangle was connected by a black almost tendril. This was the second stage of the Sharingan, the Mangekyō Sharingan. (**An: **Bleh couldn't describe it very well but you all should know what it looks like)

Leaping onto the battlefield in a rage induced fit Obito walked straight towards what appeared to be the leader who was demanding to know why he was there while insulting him. Obito ignored him and tried to walk towards Rin's lifeless corpse. The leader annoyed with the boy's lack of response swiftly moved to slice Obito in half. When it seemed Obito was about to die as well the blade went through him drawing no blood. The sword went through his body as if he was an intangible being. After a few more slices with the same results before Obito turned around and with the strength of the being encasing him punched the man through his heart. It was then for the second time the clearing had erupted with conflict.

* * *

The real Kakashi was leaning against the cave wall outside of the sealing cave keeping watch as he relaxed for a moment while still being weary. He knew quite well that they were well inside of Fire Country but that didn't mean he wasn't on guard. With the time he was given to rest he was able to recover all of the chakra he had lost. Using the Chidori still took a lot of his chakra and when you add on the continuous running he and Rin did while using chakra well the results would have been disastrous. Kakashi thought that he was going to have to live through another episode of death like he did with Obito but thankfully that was avoided, all because of Naruto.

His mind drifted to the red head who he thought of as an elder brother that he never had and smiled. Naruto was exactly like an elder brother to him. He would help him out of trouble with Kushina when he could, take him out on special occasions when he could, and he just saved him like an elder brother would. To Kakashi, Naruto was what he wanted to be and much more and Naruto knew that. Kakashi remembered Naruto telling him not be like himself (Naruto) because there was so much more to life than strength and being cool as Kakashi put it. Life was about making friends and finding a light to hold on to and preserve. Kakashi of course still being quite young asked who his lights were. He could still remember that huge smile that Naruto gave him that day before he said the names of his sensei, Kushina, Rin and himself. Kakashi then followed up that by asking why he didn't live in the light. To that question Naruto's smile faded slightly but remained none the less as he gave his answer. He said: Sometimes when you have taken refuge in the shadows for so long you lose the ability to exist in the light. Kakashi was only ten at the time and even a genius like he was had no answer to that.

"Sometimes when you have taken refuge in the shadows for so long you lose the ability to exist in the light." Kakashi repeated the words spoken to him that day as he thought on what his surrogate brother could have meant with those words. "One day Nii-san we will get you back into the light with us and that is a promise." Kakashi vowed to himself and in a rare display of happiness grinned a huge grin much like he would see Kushina do. After all that was his brother and he would do anything to make sure he was happy.

Before he could even think any more about how he would go about his plan to free Naruto from the shadows an immense wave of pain swept through his body. The pain was so much that it forced Kakashi down to a knee. It only took a few moments before Kakashi pinpointed the pain to be coming from his left eye, his Sharingan. He silently cursed as it continued to drain his dwindling chakra before quickly pulling up his hitai-ate over his eye. He silently thanked Kushina for placing a small seal on the fabric that stopped the chakra from going to his eye while it was covering it otherwise the Sharingan would have continued draining his reserves. Kakashi never noticed that his Sharingan had transformed into thanks to emotional trauma Obito was going through as both eyes responded to the same intense feelings from the Uchiha.

* * *

Obito was sitting down on the muddy ground looking down with a somber expression across his face as he stared down at the dead body of the girl he loved. Blood was dried along his right eye from excessive strain that his new Mangekyō put on his eyesight. The battlefield behind him was littered with wooden spikes jutting out of the muddy earth. In his rage Obito had subconsciously called forth the abilities of the cells of Hashirama that were used to rebuild his right side after the cave in. Squeezing Rin's body a little tighter and closer to himself Obito looked up to the moon and thanks to the blood, which got into his eye and some hallucination he saw the moon as red instead of white.

"It looks like that old geezer, Madara was right. This is a world of lies where only war and hatred exist. In this world no dreams can come to be true and there can be no peace." Obito shifted his gaze back to the dead kunoichi in his arms. "Then I'll create this world of dreams and become a God in that world. It will be a world with no conflict and an everlasting peace. Most of all it will be a world where we are together!" Obito's eyes burned with determination as his face turned into a dark scowl. "I'll do anything to make that happen!" He finished his vow off darkly as he started to plunge into the hatred of the world, of the Uchiha.

Zetsu who had been watching the whole thing played out was greatly impressed by what he had seen happen. No, he was not impressed that Madara's plan had worked perfectly actually he had expected it to. No, he was impressed by the abilities of Obito's Mangekyō Sharingan because it appeared as if it allowed him to make himself intangible at the moment of contact to avoid damage. Zetsu slowly melted into the ground again since he could marvel at the unique powers of the Sharingan later right now he needed to report back to Madara and inform him of what he most likely already knew.

* * *

"Lord Hokage we have received a reply from the Hidden Stone about the peace treaty." A nameless Chunin stated as he walked into the Hokage's office with a scroll in hand tied up with a string. Walking forward the messenger placed the Stone's reply before bowing his head and leaving the third Fire Shadow alone with a reply that would either create peace of continue war. Looking at the one piece of paper that would determine the immediate future of Konoha Hiruzen reached out with a steady hand and gripped the scroll and brought his other hand into a single hand seal. "Kai" The small string went up in an equally small poof of smoke. Taking one last deep breath Hiruzen opened the scroll and went over the scroll that seemed to be divided into two halves.

_Dear Hiruzen Sarutobi,_

_It is true we both have suffered greatly in this last war and we also have grown weary of the constant fighting. I must also apologize for my shinobi's behavior in receiving your offering of peace and have taken corrective measures. Now I have met with my village's council and we have agreed that it would be mutually beneficial for our nations to have peace. But like how you had demands so do we and they are as follows:_

Hiruzen read over the few demands they had made and they were not that unreasonable for a logically thinking person. In exchange for the land Konoha had requested be returned Iwagakure had requested for a trade agreement between the two nations. As well as the few odd requests that shouldn't be a problem. To be honest they were asking for more than they should but Konoha was exhausted and so was their only all in Sunagakure. 'I'll have to call my advisors but this shouldn't be a problem. The only problem will be Danzo trying to usurp my position as Hokage. "ANBU go and fetch my advisors and tell them to report to the meeting room." Sarutobi ordered as he moved from behind his desk and promptly left the office for the meeting room.

Walking into the meeting room located on the left wing of the Hokage tower Hiruzen smiled the moment he entered. That was because when anyone enters the room the portraits on the First and Second Hokage hang from the wall over were the current Hokage was to sit. Hiruzen strode over to his seat and took it silently waiting with Iwa's reply in front of him. Hiruzen only had to wait around five minutes for two of his advisors and former teammates Homura and Koharu to join him. It was another five minutes before Konoha's resident war hawk walked into the room with a scowl when he saw Sarutobi at the head of the table. He settled into one of the wooden seats on the side, a place he always seemed to be. Hiruzen gave each of the three a small nod before he handed the scroll Homura who read it with a nod of approval. Next was Koharu who also read it with a small smile before she handed it to Danzo. Hiruzen sighed inwardly when he saw the look in the man's eye.

"These terms are acceptable." Homura said with his usual authoritative voice that wasn't really commanding but just how he was. He didn't like all of the requests Iwa was making but in the big picture theses requests were negligible if peace was the end goal. These sentiments were also shared by Koharu who was less militant than Homura or Danzo so there was little problem with what she saw. Hiruzen each gave them a firm nod since he too believed that there would be no problem with the arrangements. Steeling himself Sarutobi looked over to Danzo to see him glaring at his fellow advisors across from him.

"You two would actually accept this farce of a treaty!? We are basically forgiving the Hidden Stone and exchanging our demands for nothing more than compensation. With this agreement you would think we lost the war instead of winning it!" Danzo exclaimed in a rare outburst of emotion. He visibly snarled at the other occupants as it seemed as if his beloved Konoha was nothing more than a sniveling child and that was unacceptable. The bandages over the eye he lost in the last war was even crinkled showing just how hard he was glaring at the three in the room with him.

Sarutobi let out an audible sigh this time because this was playing out just as he expected something he disliked. Collecting the scroll and resealing it he leaned back into his chair as his eyes swept from Danzo to the other two on his left. "Danzo, if we continue to fight because of something as simple as this we will only exert our already tired forces and leave ourselves even more vulnerable. Even if it is only for a handful of years this is a chance to let ourselves recover and flourish." Hiruzen tried using a more militaristic approach to convince the man known as the Darkness of Shinobi.

"Many of my comrades lost their lives in this Great War to protect Konoha's greatness but it is indecisive actions such as these that led to so many lives being lost! How will you answer to the dead Hiruzen? How will you atone for your numerous mistakes Hiruzen!?" Danzo shouted at his Hokage ignoring the angry expression on Homura's face and the disapproving one on Koharu's face. Sarutobi to his credit remained calm and showed no visible sign of anger to his one time friend's blatant disrespect. The reason for that was because he already had anticipated such an outburst and was completely prepared for this moment.

"By stepping down as Hokage…" Hiruzen stated down calmly as he watched Homura, Koharu and Danzo take up an expression of disbelief. Hiruzen noticed how quickly Danzo's eye took the gleam of someone who was planning to advance themselves. Without saying another word Hiruzen stood up and walked from the room and back to his office deep in thought. Opening the doors to his office Hiruzen walked behind his desk and pulled out a file from one of the drawers. This was the file of Minato Namikaze, the _Yellow Flash _of Konoha and this was also the man Hiruzen chose to be his successor. He knew the man was strong enough to defend their shared home and in this war he gained the reputation to make others deter from attacking Konoha. Not only that but he was a good man who was kind and self sacrificing and because of that he would have the Jounin council's approval as well as the ANBU Commander's who just happened to be Naruto.

"Ah that reminds me. I'll need to notify both Naruto and Shikaku about the trip we will be making to the capital." Hiruzen then chuckled because he knew Naruto would agree without a shred of hesitation but Shikaku would state that the whole thing would be troublesome. Pulling out a fresh scroll Hiruzen began to write out Konoha's reply to Iwa and usher in an age of peace with a happy smile. Meanwhile a certain Nara felt the need to escape from the suddenly confining village before he was pulled into some ridiculous meeting or something. He had no idea how right he was.

* * *

"How regrettable… here I thought Lord Third did a fine job in navigating our forces in the war and we emerged victorious but if you think it is for the best." Kensai the Third Fire Lord of Hi no Kuni stated rather disappointedly but accepting. Dressed in his formal robes Kensai also wore an elegant headdress that looked much like a folding fan with one large flame in the middle and two lesser flames on the left and right. In his left hand was a small folding fan that he was using to cover his mouth and jaw as he spoke. Kensai saw Danzo give him a hard look and shrunk into his seat feigning fear of the shady man. In truth Kensai was not afraid after all he was the Fire Lord and even the Hokage answered to him.

Danzo basked in false pride seeing even the Fire Lord would flinch when he gazed upon by his war hardened eyes. Sarutobi, Koharu, and Homura all subtly glared at their teammate from the corner of their eyes which Danzo was oblivious to. Shikaku spared a glance at the man sitting next to him and let out a sigh as he thought the word troublesome. Naruto who was sitting across from Shikaku didn't react to his words and his face behind the mask remained impassive. He knew of this Danzo character he had tried to recruit Naruto into his ROOT for some time.

"The reality of the situation is that the Sandaime allowed our village to be pushed into a corner with his passive actions and this has allowed us to become weak. We need a Hokage who will fight our enemies and enforce our laws instead of letting the other nations walk over us to their goals." Danzo ranted brashly at who he seemed to forgotten was his superior even if Kensai was not a shinobi. While the people in the room couldn't believe the blatant disrespect that Danzo was showing to the Fire Noble. Even the lesser nobles seated next to Naruto were now glaring at Danzo forgetting their earlier fear.

"Is there such a person in the village Danzo?" Kensai asked with his face still behind the folding fan and the mask of ignorance still firmly in place fooling everyone except one who he had yet to recognize. 'I believe that you will appoint yourself Danzo but let us see what you do.' Kensai thought to himself as he watched Danzo smirk now that he had gotten the chance he had wanted. Kensai though wouldn't accept Danzo as his Hokage without good reason and unless the situation was extremely dire, though he saw no harm in humoring the man just to crush him where he stood. Was that evil? Maybe… Was it going to be fun? Yes.

Now all eyes were on Danzo who was about to name his candidate for the position of Hokage, all except Hiruzen and Naruto. Keeping his firm expression in place Danzo continued to try and stare through the Fire Lord. "I recommend one of the Sannin, Orochimaru. Not only has he survived a battle against Hanzo the Salamander a shinobi on equal footing as Sarutobi but he has also proven to excel in the art of war." This name got a small uproar from the lesser nobles who were more impressed by things such as names. Unfortunately for Danzo, Kensai was an experienced leader and names were not enough to sway him.

Kensai switched his gaze from Danzo to Sarutobi whose eyes were closed the entire time Danzo was speaking. Kensai momentarily wondered what was happening behind the closed eyelids before clearing his throat telling the room he was ready to speak. "Hiruzen before you and your advisors give your opinion on this nomination I would like to hear from the Jounin Council and the ANBU Commander." Hiruzen had no problem with this and nodded his head in acceptance besides he couldn't refuse an order from the Fire Lord. "Okay, first let us hear from the representative for the Council of Jounin." Kensai stated airily as he looked at Shikaku.

Shikaku let out the quietest of sighs before muttering a small troublesome under his breath then rising to his feet, which amused Naruto who had heard him. "I do don't disagree with Danzo-sama that Orochimaru is very formidable when it comes to the battlefield but where I find an issue with this nomination is in his ties with the village. He is rarely seen within village walls and will not speak to any shinobi aside from Lord Third and the other Sannin. With this in mind I can't agree with this choice. The Shinobi force says no." Shikaku ended his logical explanation with a lazy drawl before sitting back down. Danzo who was next to the Nara silently seethed in anger.

Kensai offered no words to the Nara's conclusion but he did nod telling him his words were being considered. Then Kensai turned his gaze onto Naruto's face which was covered by his Weasel mask. 'That red hair feels very familiar for some reason but I just can't put my finger on it.' Kensai continued to fan himself as Naruto just stared ahead not even bothered by the man's inquisitive gaze. "Next we will hear from the Leaf's ANBU Commander." Kensai stated which got Naruto to stand up with his mask still in place. Hiruzen looked at his third most trusted shinobi behind Jiraiya and Minato and wondered what his thoughts on the Snake Sannin were.

"Very well Kensai-sama. It is-"

Danzo quickly snapped up and slammed his open palm on the wooden table effectively interrupting Naruto before he could respond. "Boy, you should remember who you are speaking to! Take off your mask while you speak to your betters!" Danzo reprimanded Naruto harshly hoping to earn some brownie points with the Fire Lord and hopefully earn his favor. Naruto was mentally calling Danzo the largest hypocrite he had ever met after the way he had spoken to the Fire Lord. Hiruzen for the first time since the meeting began openly glared at Danzo. He could take Danzo disrespecting him but now he was trying to destroy Naruto in front of the Fire Lord but then he smirked because of what he knew would happen when Naruto took off his mask. Kensai leveled Danzo with a hard glance and motioned for the war hawk to take his seat. Naruto reached up and unclipped his mask showing the room all of his spiky red hair and deep blue eyes.

Kensai immediately noticed the young ANBU Commander and made no effort to hide the big smile on his face. "Naruto my boy it is good to see you again! I had no idea you had been promoted to Commander!" Kensai exclaimed happily which made Hiruzen smile and Danzo frown. Hiruzen smiled because he knew of the relationship between Swift Release user and the Fire Lord while Danzo frowned because he did not. It was about three years ago when Hiruzen and Naruto visited the capital. During their stay the Fire Lord's eldest daughter was kidnapped by three missing shinobi from Yogan no Kuni (**AN: **Land of Lava) each of which were quickly dispatched by Naruto before he returned Kensai's daughter to the palace. Ever since that incident Naruto was only behind Sarutobi on Kensai's list of most trusted individuals.

"It is good to see you as well Kensai-sama. Now as I was saying before being interrupted. I too do not doubt Orochimaru's power or fighting capabilities. Nor do my concerns lie with his lack of ties with the village. Being the ANBU Commander I am very well versed in reading emotions inside of people. Behind Orochimaru's eyes I see a deep darkness and greed lurking with that said I do not believe we can trust the position of Hokage to someone like that. The ANBU do not support this choice." Hiruzen nodded to the words Naruto had spoken because he too had noticed that in his student's eyes. He was greatly impressed that Naruto had picked up on that from the few times the two had met.

Kensai nodded as well silently agreeing with Naruto's assessment of the pale skinned man since he too learned how to look behind the eyes of people. It was a useful skill to know when you were constantly surrounded by people with ulterior motives like Danzo or Orochimaru. "Thank you Naruto you may be seated. Alright Hiruzen I am sure that you have your own recommendation for the Yondaime Hokage." Kensai looked over at the soon to be former Hokage now giving him his chance to say his piece. Hiruzen gave the Fire Lord a small nod before standing up and clearing his throat.

"I recommend that Minato Namikaze for the position of Fourth Hokage. Now I know what you plan to say…" Hiruzen turned his head to look at Danzo who was indeed about to interrupt him but quickly stopped seeing he was being gazed upon. "…despite Minato's young age he was able to distinguish himself by single-handedly winning the battle of Kannabi Bridge. It was thanks to his efforts that we were able to end the war as quickly as we did. For that reason I believe it is in our best interests to install Minato as the Fourth Hokage." Closing his eyes Hiruzen sits back down missing the approving nods from his advisors and the Fire Lord.

Kensai in his excitement snaps his fan shut with an audible click as he gives a second nod to the current Hokage. "I believe that to be an excellent choice but like with Danzo's choice we must hear from the Jounin and the ANBU before a decision is rendered." Kensai stated with a firm voice earning nods from every person in the room before he peered over at Shikaku letting him know it was his time to speak once more. This of course earned a sigh from the genetically lazy Nara. Shikaku gathered his thoughts before he rose to speak on the subject.

"It is true what Hokage-sama says. Minato is shinobi of the highest caliber with his great skill comes certain charisma that makes each of our shinobi respect him. This is a decision that I can agree with." Shikaku then sat down ignoring the once more seething war hawk as images of the blonde Namikaze invaded his thoughts. He had worked with Minato many times and was always impressed with the man's power. What really blew away the man was the way that Minato treated everyone as an equal no matter who they were.

Naruto then rose already knowing he was next to speak but again it was Danzo who seemed to have other plans. "Fire Lord we cannot have him give a testimony here. It is well known that it was Minato Namikaze that brought him into the village in the first place. With this in mind we cannot believe he will provide a neutral opinion on this matter." Hiruzen had, had enough of Danzo's continuous slander of his ANBU Commander and was about to move to defend the seventeen year old but Naruto quickly leveled Danzo with an icy gaze making Hiruzen pause and watch.

"Yes it is true that it was Minato saved me from a life on the streets. This only shows that he is perfect for the position because of that kind personality. I have also seen him during a legitimate battle where showed the enemies no mercy. It is this combination that makes me believe that Minato would be the best choice since I believe he has inherited the Will of Fire from Lord Third who received it from his predecessors." Everyone saw the scowl on Danzo's face and then Naruto turned to Kensai who looked right back at the red headed ANBU Commander. "It was your Grandfather who worked with the Hashirama-sama to create the Village Hidden in the Leaves and the Will of Fire in the first place after all."

Kensai smiled when he heard those words from Naruto since it was indeed true and many people forgot that fact. Most people believed it was solely Madara and Hashirama who created Konoha but his grandfather Tenshi also funded the village in its infant stages. "That is it. I hereby approve the nomination of Minato Namikaze as the Fourth Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves!" After the murmurs and wave of congratulations it was only Hiruzen and Naruto sitting at the table each looking at the other. Hiruzen gave the young man he had watched grow up and impressed and proud smile which made Naruto's lips twitch upwards.

"That was a very impressive answer Naruto-kun perhaps you could become the Fifth Hokage once Minato gets tired of running an entire village eh?" Hiruzen joked with the red head with a playful smirk while at the same time picturing Naruto sitting behind the desk wearing the hat and grinning like a mad man. Naruto let out chuckle as he too pictured such a thing and silently wondered if he has what it takes to lead an entire village. Naruto shook his head he could think about these things at some other point in time right now he needed to arrange the ANBU patrols they had a new Hokage to prepare for.

"I don't know about that Old Man I'm not very feared among the other Nations. I'm pretty sure most of the people in the village aren't even aware that I exist." Naruto admitted with a sheepish grin rubbing the back of his neck a habit he had picked up from Kushina. Little did Naruto know that his subordinates in ANBU had started to call him _Konoha's Crimson Flash_ something Hiruzen had heard about as well. It was only a matter of time until Naruto became one of Konoha's most pivotal shinobi and now that he was free of the burdens of the office he could help foster that growth.

"Nonsense Naruto-kun you have quite the reputation within Konoha it is just that you are so dedicated to your work that you don't have the time to take note of things such as monikers just like Minato. People around the village are calling you the _Crimson Flash _because of your inhumane speed. Don't always sell yourself short sometimes a reputation is an even more powerful tool than a jutsu." Hiruzen lectured Naruto like a sage would to a group of townspeople waiting to hear his message. Naruto knew the older shinobi was indeed correct and started to think on his position when it came to having a reputation or remaining anonymous.

Naruto was broken from his musings when he heard Hiruzen's chair slide out from the table prompting him to do the same. "You can think on that later though for now we need to get back to Konoha and inform Minato of his new position. Finally someone else will have to deal with the damned paperwork!" Hiruzen exclaimed joyously earning a laugh from the young red head walking beside him. "Don't laugh Naruto-kun that paper work is truly the spawn of evil!" This of course only made Naruto laugh harder and hold his sides as he walked out of the meeting room with the elder Sarutobi.

* * *

"That is the decision we have come to. You shall become the Fourth Hokage and not only lead our village but the whole shinobi world. I only wish that I could hand this over to you under better circumstances than these." The elder Sarutobi sounded regretful because he was despite making peace with the Stone the Leaf was still at war with Kumo and Kiri. It was never his preferred choice to hand over the Leaf in a state of war but his hand was forced. Hiruzen looked down at the kneeling Namikaze to see his reaction to the news.

Minato was surprised to say the least he thought that the Third Hokage would at least remain in office until the war was over. However now he was being asked to lead the Hidden Leaf and that was what he would do. "I will do my best to make sure that the trust you have put in me is not misplaced." Hiruzen was proud to hear the resoluteness in his voice but he already knew that Minato was the only person ready to become the Hokage. Hiruzen nodded and motioned to Minato to take his leave. Minato quickly left to go inform Kushina who doubt would explode with happiness.

It had been a month since the meeting in the capital and it was now official Minato Namikaze was the Fourth Fire Shadow of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. As he predicted when he told Kushina she practically knocked him off his feet with a large embrace. Minato could only shake his head with a fond smile as he remembered that memory. Then suddenly there was a presence in his office that brought a larger smile to his face. In front of him kneeling was the Leaf ANBU Commander Weasel or as he knew him, Naruto. "Rise Naruto and remove your mask." Minato asked of his surrogate son as he sat behind his desk.

"Hai Hokage-sama." Naruto rose from one knee and slowly brought his hand up and unclipped his Weasel mask and clipped it on to his belt. Naruto looked into Minato's lighter blue eyes with his own oceanic blue. Minato just continued to stare at Naruto with Naruto staring right back in seeing who would flinch first. Minato was impressed even under the gaze of a Kage level shinobi Naruto wasn't even intimidated. Minato then smiled at Naruto which got a similar reaction from the young ANBU Commander. Though Minato planned to address something that did bother him with what Naruto did say.

"Naruto you can still call me Minato. I wouldn't want my family calling me Hokage-sama now would I?" Naruto nodded with a smile on his face since he could do that and preferred it that way. "Now as you know as Hokage it us up to me to put up people for positions such as advisors and the like. If you would like I would still like for you to be the ANBU Commander. Under your leadership the ANBU have never been so successful. What do you say?" Minato asked hopefully because even though how much he wanted Naruto to step out of the shadows of the ANBU he couldn't argue with their success rate.

"Even though you are the new Fire I will remain as the Shadow. It will be my pleasure to continue to assist you Minato." 'It is the least I could do after all you have done for me. You have given me a life and something to protect.' Minato smiled at Naruto's words since sometimes he forgot just how wise the seventeen year old could be and now that, that was off of the things to do list Minato had another proposition for Naruto. It was one he hoped Naruto would also accept since it would also help him out immensely.

"There is one other thing I would like to ask you to do for me. As you know I will need advisors to help me with choices that I will need to make one of my advisors will be Shikaku since despite his lazy nature is indeed the smartest shinobi in our forces. While I would also like Jiraiya to be my other advisor his spy network is just too important for that. With that being said I would ask that you become my second advisor. I know it is a lot that will be put on your plate but what do you say?" Minato would have asked another person but his choices were limited and he trusted Naruto the most behind his sensei with the safety of anything precious to him and that included the village he loved.

Naruto thought about it and it was true that it would him have to do a lot more work but he could still manage it. Besides he also had Shikaku to assist him and that man was indeed always five steps ahead in anything he seemed to do. Naruto nodded showing that he would also become Minato's advisor. Minato beamed with happiness now that he no longer had to worry about those trivial manners. "Now if you'll excuse me Minato I need to do some training." Naruto said before disappearing in a crimson flash of speed leaving a smiling Minato behind his desk.

"It is truly incredible that he is able to do that with pure speed and not teleportation." Minato smiled as he looked at the space where the only shinobi who could truly match him speed just stood. He knew A from Kumo could not match him speed no matter how much he boasted about the fastest man in the Elemental Nations. Minato then looked over his desk where a stack of paper work laid on each end. "I wonder why Lord Third never used this to do all of this paper work?" Minato asked aloud as he made the seal for the shadow clone jutsu. At the same time in the Sarutobi Compound Hiruzen felt like slamming his head against the wall.

* * *

Another crimson flash arrived in a dark cave like field where numerous rocks stuck out of the ground. Some of these rocks were rounded and smooth while others were jagged and sharp. Naruto looked around and walked over to the center of field where a large mountain was located that rose up into the darkness above Naruto's head. This was Training Ground 00, the training ground exclusive to the ANBU Commander of the time. The only person inside of the village who knew of the location was the ANBU Commander. Not even the Hokage knew of the location of Training Ground thanks to the high level seal work of the ANBU Commanders before him. There was even a library hidden in a small bunker in one of the walls that held scrolls on any art possible. Naruto repeatedly thanked his predecessors for letting him learn so many arts such as Medical Jutsu and the Chakra Control he needed to use it.

However today Naruto was here to train one of his own jutsu that up to this point he got it down to the point where he could call up the necessary amount of chakra without a hand sign. Now it was time for Naruto train the jutsu's attack and defensive capabilities if there were any that is. That was the thing with creating a jutsu you had to learn any hidden capabilities as you went along. Taking a deep breath Naruto mumbled a few words before his whole body was coated in a fluid lightning cloak. He maintained that form before it shot upwards into the darkness over head.

* * *

**AN: Hey guys, here is another chapter! I worked on it after updating Naruto: Nightmare Being while playing Titanfall that is. For the reviews and messages asking how Obito would be affected by what happened in the first chapter well you got your answer.**

**You guys already know about the whole SOPA thing so if you haven't already find the petition and sign it because we don't want Fanfiction to get taken down!**

**Sorry for the extremely long wait for an update to this story! I first got caught with writing my other stories (which if you haven't read you totally should!) and then the month of February my grades starting slipping so I dedicated myself to getting those back up! With success if any of you care.**

**Any who if you have any questions leave a review. If you don't….still leave a review, also maybe a follow or a favorite? It wouldn't hurt would it? I know it would help me write more in the future! Alright enough of my shameless pandering… Ja Ne!-Matt**


	3. Boundless Shadow

**Disclaimer: Hey there everyone as you know I don't own anything I write about. That includes Naruto.**

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Kurimuson Senko

* * *

Naruto stood there panting heavily as sweat poured down the side of his forehead from the exhaustion of his training. Around the young ANBU Commander stood in the faint light with numerous piles of rocks around him scattered about. A seal array on the nearest wall started to fade away showing that its use was no longer needed. Naruto's clothing was littered with small cuts and scuff marks. Releasing a loud groan Naruto straightened out his posture and wiped the sweat from his brow. Naruto looked around as the piles of rocks and dust and shook his head with a firm look etched across his features.

'That was just a few A-rank techniques and that was all I could do with them? I could barely contain all of the pure energy behind the attacks. I am going to need a lot more practice if it will be anywhere where I want it to be.' Naruto went over the results of his training session and tried to come up with adjustments. Naruto's azure eyes caught a glimpse of his Weasel mask lying on a nearby stone table and something clicked inside of his head. Walking over to the table Naruto clasped his hand around his mask, his identity.

"That's right I am supposed to go and see the Old Man today. I wonder what it is he needs from me of all people. He even invited me to the Sarutobi clan compound." Naruto stated aloud as he walked in to the next room. Opening up a small closet space Naruto pulled out a fresh uniform to replace his tarnished one. Throwing his old one to the side and making sure his ANBU tattoo was visible. His tattoo also had a Fuma Shuriken inside of the swirl signifying that he was the Commander of the Hidden Leaf's ANBU forces.

Naruto nudged his equipment into the final places to make him look presentable for the public eye. Being in a position of power as both the Hokage's advisor and the Leaf's ANBU Commander he needed to look the part since perception is just as much reality as reality is. Naruto sighed he really missed being able to walk along the streets at his own leisurely pace but the Leaf was still at war with Kiri and have yet to hear from Iwa on the cease fire. Naruto guessed that the agreement would fall through when Iwa got word of the new Hokage. Minato was to be presented to the public eye as the new Hokage in the coming days. Naruto sighed and grabbed his cloak and vanished in a Lightning element Shunshin.

A Lightning Shunshin roared to life right in front of the walls of the Sarutobi compound and out stepped Naruto. Naruto glanced at the Sarutobi crest that was painted on the wall from behind his porcelain mask. Now while the Sarutobi clan was not as large as the Uchiha or Hyuga clans but they were still quite influential within Konoha's walls. Stopping just before entering Naruto looked up at the large stone monkey that was perched up on the arch watching over both him and the compound. Naruto had to admit looking at the statue figure closer it bore a striking resemblance to the Monkey King Enma. The boss summon of the Monkey contract entrusted to the Sarutobi clan.

Naruto made his way to the front door of the rather modest compound and knocked on the front door. This compound reminded him of the Namikaze compound that was hidden away in the forest behind the Hokage Monument and a few layers of barriers. Naruto refocused himself when he heard footsteps coming closer to him from the other side of the wall. The door slid open to show a young man who appeared to be around Kakashi and Rin's age. The teen had brown eyes and short black spiky hair and was looking at him intently. Naruto recognized this as The Third's son Asuma. "Lord Third asked to see me."

Asuma stared into the porcelain mask for a few moments in an awkward silence before he nodded his head slowly. "My dad is sitting out back ANBU-san." Asuma replied with his most respectful voice. Naruto nodded his head and disappeared in a Hidden Leaf Shunshin since he didn't feel comfortable walking through another person's house. Hiruzen watched calmly as a swirl of leaves appeared in front of him. He knew there was no need to be alarmed since he could sense Naruto the moment he had entered the grounds. When the leaves cleared Naruto was seen on one knee with his cloak blowing and his crimson, red hair trickling over the top of the mask.

"Ah Naruto-kun it is good to see you my boy! Take a seat and have some of this wonderful tea." Hiruzen said with clear happiness as he enjoyed his retirement. Reaching over he patted the seat next to him as he poured a second cup of tea for Naruto. Naruto who was trying to keep an air of professionalism around his person let out a muffled sigh at the former Hokage's laid back attitude though he couldn't stop the fond smile from coming over his face. Standing up Naruto took a few strides and took the seat that was so graciously offered to him.

Once he got comfortable in the seat next to the elder Sarutobi Naruto reached up and positioned his mask so it was resting on the top of his head. Naruto turned to Hiruzen and took the tea with a small smile and said a small thank you before taking a sip of the liquid. Letting the tea slide down his throat Naruto let out a small sigh. "It is really hard to be professional when you are calling me by my name Old Man." Naruto said taking a friendly jab at the powerful, retired shinobi who was sitting next to him.

Hiruzen chuckled at Naruto's words and waved them off with his free hand as he looked out at the small garden. "Do you think I would not notice any spies in my own yard Naruto-kun? Even if there were spies I am sure an ex-Kage and an ANBU Commander would have enough skills to eliminate them don't you think?" Hiruzen presented his argument while remaining relaxed but this didn't fool Naruto he knew that the man next to him was always on his toes. Naruto just nodded since he could not find any fault in the argument that was just given to him since both he and Sarutobi were capable of holding off a spy.

"Be that as it may I doubt I was called here for a friendly chat Sarutobi-sama." Naruto's voice had gone a complete transformation from a friendly man to one with an air of authority around him. Naruto often used this tone to whip his less than enthusiastic candidates for the ANBU into gear when they got lethargic. While Hiruzen wasn't bothered by that he did know this meant that it was time to get down to business. Naruto turned to Sarutobi and his eyes were quickly steeled and held a firm look in the deep azure pools. "What is it that has been requested of me?"

Hiruzen placed a privacy seal on the immediate vicinity and this served to keep their words from reaching places that they shouldn't. Naruto knew that this was very important if Hiruzen went to such lengths even here in his own home. Placing down his cup of tea Hiruzen looked at Naruto and cleared his throat. "Minato asked for me to have you come here and receive this mission. He was not sure how far my old rival Danzo's influence reaches in the building." Naruto nodded since he knew just how crafty Danzo was at gathering information. That man always had his own agenda when it came to anything in Konoha and it always was to benefit him.

"That is why we are meeting here. Minato was received some intelligence from a team he had recently dispatched to the border between the Land of Fire and Kusagakure. There have been a number of caravans passing through the area but they never make a return trip. Minato has reason to believe that there is a laboratory somewhere in the area." Hiruzen explained as he handed Naruto a map that the location marked off with a small x. The marking was only a few miles from being within Kusa territory. A hidden laboratory seemed a lot like Orochimaru but for the moment his research was all allowed.

"At first we believed it to be a laboratory that Orochimaru had not told us about but that idea was dismissed when we were told that there seemed to be a Genjutsu that was affecting area something Orochimaru had never done. We have a feeling that Danzo might have something to do with this and if he doesn't we don't want him learning about this place. While we don't know what or who is down there we know it can't be good. You are to create a team and investigate this and gather what you can before destroying the lab." Hiruzen finished the delivery of the mission parameters.

"You can tell Minato-sensei that the mission will be completed swiftly." Naruto stated with an air of finality as he pulled his mask down over his face. Standing up and bowing to the former Hokage Naruto vanished in a Shunshin. Naruto quickly made his way to the ANBU headquarters to find two people that he knew were off and could assist. Walking into the chambers Naruto kept going into the break room where he found exactly who he was in need of. The first was a man with short, black hair that was held in with a few hair bands. He had black eyes and there was the mask of a Sloth. This ANBU operative was Denka Nara. The man he was talking too had longer brown hair that went to his lower back. He had pale, pupiless eyes and pale skin this was Kejin Hyuga or Mockingbird.

"Sloth! Mockingbird!"

The two previously relaxing ANBU operatives suddenly tensed and snapped to their feet and regarded their commander with a bellow of 'Naruto-Taichou' in a not too surprising unison. Naruto eyed them both intently and even though they couldn't see his eyes Denka and Kejin felt at unease with their Taichou staring them down like this. With a swift nod Naruto addressed the two men in front of him. "You two prepare for an infiltration mission that will last at least three days and you are to meet me at the East Gate in an hour. Tardiness is not acceptable." With a unison 'Hai' the operatives grabbed their masks and went to prepare for the mission that was given to them.

Naruto arrived at the East Gate thirty minutes ahead of the meeting time and waited for his two subordinates to arrive. It was fifteen minutes later that Denka and Kejin drop in front of Naruto. After a brief rundown of what they were to expect the three ANBU quickly took to the trees and made their way towards Kusagakure. They made it about half way there when it got dark and the grass started to get even thicker. Naruto not knowing what to expect once they got inside decided it was better if they took their break now and reached the hideout fully recovered and rested.

Naruto decided that he would take the first shift for the night and let his two subordinates rest for the time being. Naruto crossed his fingers and whispered out the words.

"**Kage Bunshin Jutsu"**

Naruto watched as three more clones identical to him appear in front of him after stepping out of three clouds of smoke. Naruto gave them the mental order to keep watch in each of the cardinal directions which they readily obliged. Naruto smirked behind his mask since despite this being a Kinjutsu it was still stored in the scrolls that the ANBU Commanders before him had so graciously written down for the future generations. Naruto looked up into the heavenly body known as the moon and let out a deep sigh.

* * *

"What do you see Mockingbird?"

Naruto's voice was nothing above a whisper as he turned to face Kejin whose veins were bulged running down his cheeks. This was the indication that the man with the Mockingbird mask was using the Byakugan to see the chakra that was most likely in the air. "It as is the report read Taichou there is area based Genjutsu on this plot of land most likely in an effort to hide what is underneath." Kejin informed the rest of the team as his eyes discerned the thin veil of chakra that was creating the illusion around the area. It seemed that it was hiding a staircase that was descending into the earth.

"Is there any one or thing in there Mockingbird?" The calculative voice of the man behind the Sloth mask asked. It wouldn't make sense if they made an effort to hide an empty laboratory with no records in it. If there were records, data, and archives in the base then no doubt there should be guards, it was only logical. The million dollar questions were who was in there and what exactly were guarding. The Nara was already going through a number of general infiltration strategies in his mind that would work for such a small enclosing especially one that was underground.

"Yes there are three active chakra sources inside of the base. They seem to be searching for something. I think it is safe to assume that they do not own the base but they are searching for something rather frantically." Kejin relayed what he saw to his Commander and his friend who both nodded their heads. Naruto made signals for them to approach the entrance to the lab with caution. The group of three made their way down the steps quietly small torches lit the way down the steps so that whoever made use of them could see where they were walking.

They continued their venture deeper into the underground construct for a few minutes before they entered a corridor with one door on each side and a third door allowing for further entry. Naruto motioned for Denka and Kejin to take each of the side doors which they did without hesitation. Each room was similar there was a small table on the far left with dull interrogation tools that were rusted over with dried blood. In the room to the left there was a man hanging by a wooden X construct. The man hand long black hair that fell over his face which was currently drooped. The man's wrists were crossed over his head with a nail driven through the wrists holding them in place. This was the sight in the room to the right as well except that instead of a man with black hair it was a woman with long red hair that had blue streaks running through it.

After relaying what they saw in the rooms to Naruto all three took a moment to come up with any sort of theory. With no luck in that matter the three ANBU continued forward through another winding, dim corridor where there was an open door. The three Leaf ANBU readied themselves as they walked into the room in front of them. They were greeted by two figures with blank porcelain masks staring at them and the back of a third man. Each of the ANBU knew just who they were currently looking at; these men were Danzo's branch of ANBU operatives, ROOT.

"What are ROOT shinobi doing here?" Naruto asked with a growl since he was never very fond of the old war hawk. These feelings were only more intense from his last meeting where Danzo tried to undermine whatever he said at every turn. Not to mention the fact that Danzo was not supposed to know about this mission. 'It is possible that he could have gotten a hold of that Jounin's report on the area.' Naruto silently mused as he looked at all three of the Ne shinobi but more specifically the one who had his back turned to him, a mistake and show of disrespect.

"You two take care of the disturbance while I find what Danzo-sama requested. You will not fail do you understand?" The voice was devoid of any feelings or tone it was just blank of everything. This was a tone that was achieved by all of Danzo's ninja after they completed his strenuous emotional conditioning. The figure kept sliding his hands along the wall in front of him most likely searching for a secret mechanism. Naruto had, had enough of this shinobi's blatant disregard for their existence something he was about to change whether he wanted it to or not. Naruto quickly channeled his chakra to his feet and shot off.

All the two ROOT shinobi and Sloth and Mockingbird saw was a crimson flash before there was a sudden dust and debris explosion. What actually happened was Naruto using the grand speed granted to him by his Swift Release and shoulder tackled the ROOT nin though the wall in front of them. Sloth shot Mockingbird a glance and they both shared a silent nod of understanding before they each took an opponent for themselves. This prevented the two Ne nin from going to help their leader against Naruto's assault. Mockingbird knowing this place was too small for two separate battles forced one of the ROOT shinobi into another room so that there would be enough space and hopefully prevent a premature cave in.

In the hole that Naruto tackled the man through Naruto and said man were gathering their bearings and looked around the room. The Ne shinobi looked to see a table in front of a bookcase with a number of journals and used scrolls scattered around the tabletop. The Root ninja went to go gather the notes but Naruto had other ideas and appeared in front of the man trying to drop his heel on the man's head. The ROOT nin was able to avoid the strike rather easily and was now focused entirely on the ANBU Commander as if the threat was fully registered.

Suddenly a torrent of water was spewed from the man's mouth and it flooded the room's floor which had Naruto on high alert. The water level was not enough to damage anything in was only just above the ankles but it filled the entire room. The man held a single hand sign and suddenly a large amount of thin water needles shot into the air. With a second hand sign the water froze into ice and shot towards Naruto who avoided the attack letting the ice shatter against the wall. Naruto's eyes behind his mask were wide as he stared at the shinobi who too was hidden by a mask. 'A Yuki…'

The Yuki lived in the Land of Water and they had control of the Hyoton kekkei genkai of the Yuki clan. Hyoton or Ice Release was the combination of the elements of Wind and Water and was said to be able to even stand up to some Fire Release techniques without melting under the heat. There speed was also supposed to be top of the line thanks to their high level control over the element of wind. The question that Naruto had was how Danzo managed to smuggle out a Yuki out of the Land of Water during times of war. The man was an expert at remaining hidden and Naruto doubted he would be caught without direct confrontation.

Well the time for questions was later now was the time for confrontation…

* * *

**With Sloth (Denka)**

'Great a fight with an emotionless drone is already a disadvantage. With the training they go through I won't be able to pick at his nerves thus making him sloppy. Anger creates errors and errors make fights so much easier. I knew this mission would be bothersome… Not like I could tell Naruto-sempai that.' He had to repress a shiver that threatened to shake his whole body at the thought of mouthing off to Naruto. The last time someone had questioned the young Commander without good reason he was used as Naruto's personal sparring partner for three hours and came back looking like he had lost a fight with a bear. Needless to say there were no more complaints about who got what mission or who their teammates were.

Denka watched behind his mask as the Ne shinobi reached into a ninja tool pouch and armed himself with a standard kunai. 'How do I want to go about this battle?' Taking out a kunai of his own Denka threw the kunai leaving his arm out straight. The Leaf ANBU watched as the kunai followed a straight trajectory and was parried by the ROOT nin as was expected. 'My opponent has no knowledge of my Nara blood so I will use my Ninjutsu skills to lull him into a sense of security then use my Shadow techniques to end the fight swiftly.

Denka clicked his teeth as he was forced to backpedal or else be slashed across the throat by his charging opponent. In the few moments he took to create his plan his opponent took and pressed the advantage. For any of his more effective jutsu to be utilized he would need some space between he and his foe. Using an over extended slash as his opening Denka lashed out with a quick kick that hit his opponent in the torso and sent him sliding by the soles of his shinobi sandals. Flashing through a quick string of hand signs Denka's chest swelled up to accommodate the ballooning chakra.

"**Water Release: Gunshots!"**

Denka's cheeks flared up behind his porcelain Sloth mask to fit the concentrated globs of chakra infused water. Those globs sifted through the slit in the ANBU mask and three gunshots rocketed towards the Ne ANBU. It was well known that jutsu could be both performed with a verbal announcement or a mental one. While the silent calls were more subtle and could take an opponent by surprise an attack that is said while it alerts an enemy it is also more powerful than a silently performed jutsu. There are a number of people with enough chakra to make up for that tradeoff but they were Kage level shinobi and had no need to hide their attacks from an enemy.

The shinobi with the blank mask allowed the first shot to fly by his side with a slight adjustment of his body. The second shot was also honing in on him with this one coming in dead center he crouched down and the second shot sailed over his head. The ROOT shinobi knew there was no avoiding the last shot his only option left was to counter it with a jutsu of his own. The man went through a series of hand signs the speed of which was comparable to Denka's. His chest swelled with the buildup of his own chakra.

"**Fire Release: Grand Fireball."**

There was no need for the man to bring a finger around his lips as the mask already helped shape the sphere of flames. The orange ball of fire rushed forth to meet the oncoming smaller ball of water in a collision. The two attacks met a few feet from the Root nin since his attack was launched latter. The sheer size of the fireball was able to cancel out the natural advantage water had over fire. The natural reaction of water meeting flames, mist quickly spread through the tiny underground chamber temporarily shrouding both shinobi from sight of the other.

Denka was able to make out the silhouette of the ROOT operative first and rushed into the steam with his kunai in hand hoping to kill the man with his sight hampered Denka brought his kunai with all intent of driving it through his heart. Unfortunately for Denka the ROOT nin quickly recovered and parried the strike with his own kunai. Pressing on Denka attacked once more and once more the ROOT shinobi countered resulting in a clash of steel ringing out in the enclosed space. The mist began to escape through the ventilation system which cleared the room for the most part both shinobi stood there short on breath from the brief but intense encounter.

'It is now or never.' Denka thought to himself as he reached behind him and pulled out three more kunai but these kunai were different from the others. Around the loops on these kunai were the finest of ninja wire wrapped as such that they would string out when the kunai they were attached to were thrown. The Nara clan member threw his kunai so that they appeared to be aimed with killing intent while the easiest choice as to dodge them. This strategy revolved all around the man dodging the kunai and not deflecting them. If the kunais were deflected they would not be embedded into the walls and he couldn't grip their shadows.

Unseen to the ROOT shinobi Denka smirked under his mask when he heard all three of his kunai click when they hit the wall. Denka was glad that the lighting in the room gave him enough light to create shadows for him to use. Another beneficial factor was the fact that the ROOT shinobi used fire which created the mist in the room. The mist gave just enough cover to hide the fine wire from the eyes of Denka's foe. Let it be known that there was nothing more satisfying to a Nara than a plan that went perfectly, not even cloud gazing could compare.

"**Shadow Sewing"**

The ROOT nin found himself immobilized and was confused though nothing his body showed said that. Looking around he saw tendrils of thick, black shadows impaling his frame and keeping him rooted firmly in place. Following the tendrils from where they entered his body and up he saw that each of the tendrils came from wires he missed thanks to the mist hindering his sight. He now knew that his opponent was a Nara but that was not all he also knew he had failed Danzo and what that meant. Denka walked forward and drove a kunai through the man's heart and muttered a single word when he saw the man's head lurch forward.

"Checkmate…" The minute he uttered that word his danger senses kicked in and he leaped back to the entrance of the corridor while the body stayed in the center. The moment he leaped away the body was swallowed by a sphere of ink that pulsed out of the body, using it as an epicenter for the technique. Once the technique ended Denka was able to see that the body was completely useless now. "A trap set to be released upon death? I guess Danzo does not want anyone getting any of his secrets. I better go check on Mockingbird." With that Denka made his way to where Kejin pushed his opponent into.

* * *

**With Mockingbird (Kejin)**

Mockingbird and his opponent had just made it into a smaller corridor a ways down from the room where the two forces had encountered each other. Both ROOT and Leaf ANBU stood tensed ready to react to any sudden movements by the other. 'Alright I don't know his abilities and he doesn't know mine. I'll have to use my Byakugan but the moment I do use my kekkei genkai he will know I am a Hyuga. I really need to stop relying on these eyes of mine.' Kejin had to force himself to not sigh out loud then he came to a realization. 'I have been spending a lot of time with Denka to be thinking like this.'

"**Byakugan"**

Releasing the single sign required to channel his chakra to his eyes Kejin stared directly at his opponent examining him. The ROOT nin body faded to a black silhouette where 361 small nodes called tenketsu where placed along the chakra pathways. Kejin positioned himself in the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist style which was created to strike the tenketsu points hence halting the flow of chakra to the body. 'Nothing in his body is abnormal and he has a fair amount of chakra in his reserves but that is to be expected since he is one of Danzo's ANBU.' Having enough of his thoughts Kejin rushed forward his fingers aiming at a tenketsu in the shoulder hoping to disable an arm quickly.

The ROOT shinobi knew the veins bulging around the temples was the key factor in indentifying the Byakugan which meant a Taijutsu exchange was very dangerous and potentially fatal. The ROOT nin found himself backpedaling to avoid the onslaught of the dangerous finger and palm strikes. Each strike that was avoiding allowed the chakra being discharged from Kejin's hands to be visible; it was this that closed the tenketsu. This continued on as Kejin continued to force the ROOT operative into a wall. The Ne shinobi turned his head slightly and saw that his back was to the wall, literally. Turing to look at Kejin the silent nin saw he had dropped into a unique stance with his feet spread wide and his body twisted with his arms spread in opposite directions.

"**Eight Trigrams Sixty-four Palms!"**

Kejin twisted his body and with a shout of 'two palms' he delivered two strikes directly to the tenketsu in the body closing them follow by two more consecutive blows to two different tenketsu. This was followed by four more strikes as Kejin's eyes focused in on more tenketsu as his technique continued its direct assault on the chakra nodes. Kejin's hands were nothing more than blurs as in a span of a few moments he delivered thirty-two swift strikes to the body of the ROOT nin. And with a final shout of 'sixty-four palms' Kejin's finger tips stuck the last remaining tenketsu sealing off the chakra in the man's body.

Kejin released his hold on his Byakugan and straightened his posture easing from his combat stance. He watched as the man's body slumped forward for a moment before collapsing in a heap at his feet. The wall that was behind the man's body was littered with tiny holes from the chakra that Kejin used to close the nodes in the chakra pathway. Kejin knew it was over so he cracked his neck and turned around he was going to meet up with Sloth before checking in on their Commander, not that it was needed. "Well let's go see if that Sloth of a friend has finished up yet." Kejin said aloud but there was a certain fondness in his voice.

The ROOT nin who Kejin turned his back on lifted his head silently to see that Kejin was walking away from. Taking advantage of this he stood up silently and reached into his kunai pouch and gripped one before tossing it at Kejin's back. Kejin was a step from exiting the room when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. Wincing behind his mask he reached around with his left hand and plucked the kunai out of the back of his right shoulder. Kejin looked at the blood on the sharp end of the blade for a moment before tossing it to the ground where it slid away. Turing around he was confused as to why the ROOT shinobi was standing let alone in a position to continue fighting.

The ROOT shinobi's body emitted a faint, blue glow as he readied himself once more confused by the happenings Kejin reactivated his Byakugan to assess just what was happening. To his astonishment not one of the man's tenketsu were closed and his body was pumped full of chakra. 'What is happening here? I am sure that I hit each of his tenketsu so how is he standing let alone ready to fight!?' Kejin question himself not believing what he was seeing even though the proof was right in front of his eyes. It was just inconceivable but he calmed himself down and lunged forward once more to finish the job.

The Taijutsu exchange continued for a few minutes with Kejin taking just as many hits as he dished out. His shoulder wound was hampering him more than he thought that it would but he couldn't complain about that now. Kejin assumed that if small precise strikes were not enough then he would need to be more forceful. Using positioning he managed to maneuver his opponent back towards the wall again cutting off his escape with his Byakugan armed Kejin delivered a flat, palm strike straight to the man's heart releasing a large amount of chakra hoping that this strike would finish the battle for good.

"**Eight Trigrams Mountain Crusher!"**

The ROOT shinobi's head lurched forward as Kejin released a powerful wave of chakra through his palm straight into the man's body. The power behind the chakra even slammed the man hard enough into the wall to create an indent in the stone wall. Kejin watched in shock as his Byakugan showed that his chakra was being absorbed into the man's body greatly reducing the power of his attack. 'H-He is absorbing my chakra that is how he is surviving my attacks because they aren't doing anything!' Kejin shouted mentally as he felt his opponent grasp his shoulder and directly begin to drain his chakra.

Kejin could feel himself losing his power as his chakra left his body thanks to the man's absorption. The Ne shinobi slapped Kejin's wrist forcing his body to swing and opening his guard to a counter attack. The ROOT nin grasped Kejin by the top of his head and flipped their positions slamming him into the wall as his hand glowed a fiery blue. Kejin coughed out some blood from the forceful slam his breath coming out in labored gasps as more chakra left his body. 'This is my only chance…while his guard is down.' Kejin did a few hand signs before placing his hands on the wall he was embedded inside of.

"**Earth Release: Stone Spears!"**

At Kejin's choked command five spears suddenly spiked out from the wall of stone the two shinobi were standing in front of. The ROOT nin was too close to the wall to be able to respond in time. The five spears each buried themselves in different locations in the man's body but each was in a different vital area. The man was killed instantly with his hand grasping at Kejin's head still in the action of chakra draining. Kejin stayed motionless as he took deep breathes his body suffering from chakra exhaustion. This was the sight Denka walked into.

"Need a hand?"

* * *

**With Weasel (Naruto)**

"**Hyoton: Ice Dragon Blizzard."**

Naruto sped around the room trying to avoid the freezing snow that was being spewed out of the ice dragon's maw. The Yuki ANBU made sure that his attack did not damage the notes that both forces coveted otherwise he would face Danzo's wraith. Naruto grit his teeth when he started to lose traction thanks to the snow making the floor slick. He was sure that this man had info on him from Danzo since he was the ANBU Commander and guessed this was a counter-measure to his Jinton. Losing some traction thanks to the icy floor Naruto slid into a corner and the dragon moved forward hoping to trap the young red head.

"I have enough if this!" Naruto growled out as he stared defiantly at the face of the ice dragon which just stared back before returning the growl and preparing to fire another blizzard blast. In a quick burst of speed Naruto Shunshined on top of the dragon's dome with a palm resting on the back of the neck. He channeled his wind chakra and much like the leaf cutting exercise he made his chakra fine tuned and sharp cutting through the dragon's neck. The dragon let out a bone shaking roar as its head fell to the ground and shattered. The ROOT nin released the technique making long body of the dragon fall taking Naruto with it.

Naruto braced himself for the fall before his eyes caught an amethyst flash acting on instinct he freed on of his elongated kunai and blocked a slash from the Yuki clan member. Naruto saw that the man had a blade bracketed on his arm made of amethyst colored ice while the dragon was made of a more aqua colored crystal. Naruto guessed that this form of ice was stronger and more durable making it more fit for close quarters combat. Naruto's eyes widened behind his mask when the man's fist collided with his mask clad face. The only reason it did not shatter was the layer of chakra coating the mask to prevent such things. Naruto flipped backwards in an impressive feat of flexibility and agility.

'Okay he is fast, not quite as fast as Minato-sensei but fast in his own right. I can't use my Jinton or else I will just lose friction.' Pushing forward Naruto used his kunai to clash with the ice release user where they were locked in a test of strength. After a couple of moments and neither with an apparent advantage both hopped back and reassessed the situation they found themselves in. Performing a Shunshin Naruto appeared behind the ROOT shinobi and drove it into where the man's heart was. Naruto breathed a sigh of relief believing he had won until the body dropped into a puddle of water at his feet. 'Mizu Bunshin!?'

Coming from his left Naruto acted a moment to slow as the Yuki's amethyst, ice blade cut down his shoulder leaving a small gash on his cloak and skin. Naruto hissed in pain before sliding back and examining his freshly cut skin. Naruto watched as in moments the blood dripping from his cut froze from the temperature drop caused by the blade. 'If it can affect my temperature that extremely from just a moment of contact I definitely can not afford to be stabbed by that or else the results would be dire.' Naruto informed himself getting ready for another round of close quarters combat with the ROOT foe across from him.

Both shinobi lunged forward and collided with their weapon of choice resulting in an audible clang of ice on steel. Acting first Naruto used his free arm and drove the point of his elbow into the Ne shinobi making him hunch over. The ROOT nin took his hands and grabbed Naruto by the bicep; flipping the young ANBU Commander over his shoulder the Yuki member slammed Naruto into the unforgiving stone floor. Naruto let out a pained grunt and quickly whipped his leg out hoping to trip the man but the ROOT shinobi jumped over the outstretched leg but was forced to release Naruto's arm. Getting back to his feet Naruto steadied his grip on his hooked kunai. Putting his kunai away Naruto went through a few hand signs and gathered his chakra just under his palms.

'**Wind Release: Crescent Wind Blades.'**

Naruto didn't say the jutsu because had he pronounced his technique it would become too powerful for him to use in such a confined space. The ROOT shinobi was not able to see the blades because of the amount of chakra behind the jutsu so he paid for it with a large cut across the thigh. The blank masked foe then strained his eyes to pick up the blades of wind but eventually managed to pick up the sight of them. Acting quickly the Yuki member evaded the last three leaving them to carve up the walls of the room.

"**Hyoton: Fierce Tiger."**

Naruto watched in awe from behind the mask as ice that had yet to break of melt away raise into the space above their heads before it began to be manipulated. The ice began to take shape and it took the shape of a ferocious looking tiger that was ready to kill him. Naruto took a step back as the tiger began to prowl forward towards him. Naruto knew he was cornered when the tiger tried to pounce on him. Naruto gazed down at the slippery floor as the tiger bore down on his figure. Hitting the ground the floor blew up in pieces of debris and dust as ice shards scattered from the impact of the attack.

Naruto watched the cloud of destruction spread through the room as he remained glued to the ceiling by channeling chakra to the soles of his feet. 'I am lucky that the roof had yet to be frozen over or avoiding that last jutsu would have been nearly impossible.' Naruto let out a sigh of relief before going through his own hand signs seeing that the ROOT nin had yet to find him here on the roof. 'Now for the distraction…' Naruto allowed his chakra to spike and thanks to the proximity the ROOT shinobi was able to find Naruto hanging from the roof.

"**Lightning Release: Falling Dragon Current!"**

Naruto's muffled voice reverberated in the scarcely furnished room resulting in a long echo to spread in the room. Soon a spiral of electric energy spun around Naruto wiping up and around violently in an erratic pattern making it unpredictable, just as the name states the spiral of energy started to fall directly downward on to the ROOT shinobi. Naruto didn't need to see the results Shunshined just in time to appear directly behind the ROOT operative as he leaped backwards. "Your tendencies lead to your downfall…" Naruto whispered from behind the Yuki clan member those being the last words the man would hear.

Naruto kicked the man in the back thrusting him forward into the current of potent electricity connected at the ceiling and floor. Naruto was impressed that the man did not utter a single sound of pain throughout the whole battle though he did shiver at the thought of going through that kind of training. Naruto waited for his technique to die off and when it did he went to examine the body of his now deceased foe but just before he could make contact the body lit up with a blue flame burning it to nothing but ash.

"Glad that is over." Naruto murmured to himself releasing an E-rank wind technique to disperse the ashes into the air space. Naruto checked himself and aside from a few cuts on his arms and torso and some light bruising he would be just fine. Naruto turned around and breathed out a sigh of relief seeing that the notes were just fine and chuckled when he saw his wind blades had cut just above the table, Naruto knew he dodged a bullet on that one. Naruto moved over to the table and grabbed the first scroll he saw and unfurled it and began reading its contents.

"_The Chimera is a boundless shadow. The Chimera Technique is meant to combine separate living bodies of organisms into one combined organism bearing the original characteristics of the organisms, and therefore create a singular synthetic body retaining all of the characteristics from the parts creating said body._

_It seems that the most kekkei genkai that the Chimera Technique can absorb is four yet those four only seem to be incomplete absorptions if the two I have absorbed are any indication. More research is needed to see what it is that is necessary for complete absorption if it is even possible…._

_The Chimera Technique is not only limited to the human body. This technique is also applicable to an animal's body. If the technique is used properly it would be possible to create the perfect summoning animal… (Look into altering the technique for said idea)"_

"The Chimera Technique seems to be very dark in nature, no doubt a Kinjutsu." Naruto said aloud before storing the scroll with the summary of the technique into a standard storage scroll for safe keeping. Naruto grabbed what looked to be a journal and opened to the first page as that seemed to be the most logical place to start his search.

"_Those fools think they can look down on me just because they have the natural talent to be great ninja while I lack behind? That is unacceptable! I know what I will do! I will create a technique that will make me far more superior than they could ever hope to be._

_When I complete this technique then I will have them all bowing at my feet begging for mercy, which I won't give. With all of my knowledge there is no way I could fail and what better test subject than my body!"_

'Seems like the guy has a major inferiority complex or those around him have a giant superiority complex.' Naruto mused to himself as he licked his fingertips and flipped through the pages of the journal documenting the person's progress with his or her research. Naruto stopped on a page that hit close to home.

"_I have completed my amazing technique and have named it the Chimera Technique and it works just as I had imagined. It allows me to take the physical characteristics from my subjects and even their chakra natures as my own. What better to take than what makes a shinobi special, what better than a kekkei genkai?_

_I have already found two promising leads for my first kekkei genkai from an informant who was easily swayed. In the Land of Lightning there is supposedly a traveling group of shinobi each carrying the Jinton (Swift Release). All I need to do is separate one from the group and take their talents for my own._

_It worked perfectly! Never had I felt so fast, so quick. It feels incredible. Just wait until those fools who called me a no talent shinobi see me again. Oh how they will rue the day they insulted my worth!_

_It seems that Kiri is a goldmine for kekkei genkai. There are so many I just can't choose. I could of course just take as many as I want… No that wouldn't do I need to be disciplined with my choices. I already have the speed so I think I will take attack power next. My next target will be the Ranton (Storm Release)."_

Naruto snapped the small journal closed not able to read the rest with a clear mind after what he read moments ago. Storing everything else in the same storage scroll Naruto turned around and found himself lost in his thoughts. 'There were a group of Swift Release users and they were traveling? Is it possible…? No Naruto who knows how old these notes are! You can't allow yourself to think like that.' Naruto saw that his two teammates and just joined him in the room and he lifted the scroll and gave them a small nod. "Mission complete, let's go home."

* * *

Naruto was standing in front of the Fourth Hokage just finishing the delivery of the mission report leaving Minato much to think about. If what these notes said was true then this Chimera Technique then he could not let this get out to the public. Minato leaned back into his chair and let out a contemplative sigh allowing his eyes to close for a moment. He had plenty of time to decide what to do later right now he had other things to think about. "You did well Naruto though this technique troubles me I am glad that we kept Danzo from retrieving this information."

Naruto nodded his head before the atmosphere in the room became much more light-hearted with Sensei and Student chatting happily about things not dealing with any missions or political dealings. "How was the coronation Minato-sensei? I can only imagine that it was over the top much to your chagrin." Naruto said rather confidentially with a wide grin when he saw his sensei's shoulders drop and flinch simultaneously. Naruto knew that whatever had happened had to be good if it got the mighty Yellow Flash to flinch. Naruto put his money on something Kushina did to him. Yup that was where he would place his proverbial bet.

"Well the ceremony itself took place on top of this very building but the real pain was the dinner they had after. All these people patting me on the back and praising me when they should be praising the ones whose names are carved into the Memorial Stone." Naruto nodded his head whole-heartedly agreeing with that statement. It was always the people that did not come back who were forgotten aside from those who loved them while those who did come back were hailed as heroes. Naruto raised an eyebrow when he saw his Hokage and sensei fidget in his chair as if trying to repress something.

"It was at that same dinner where things began to go downhill because Kushina did not appreciate some of the looks other women where giving me. With a dose of killer intent and a promise of pain she got rid of the fan girls but then I needed to beg so that I avoided the same punishment." The one thing Minato feared was his wife and man, those Uzumaki women terrifying. He wondered if it had to do with that red hair because it seemed to resonate with her anger. Thinking of his wife triggered something in his mind reminding him to pass on a message to Naruto.

"Oh that is right, Naruto, Kushina wants you to visit our home the moment you are done here…which is now." Minato relayed the information to the red headed ANBU Commander in front of him. Naruto stood there before a look of realization dawned on his face giving Minato a quick salute Naruto disappeared in a crimson flash making his way to the Namikaze compound since he needed to show Kushina the results of his training.

* * *

**AN: Here is another chapter for my story. The next chapter will be the start of Kyuubi's assault on the Hidden Leaf. I will leave it to my readers to determine if Minato lives or dies along with Kushina. It is a package deal…either they both live or both die.**

**Leave your answer in a review for me. Have a nice day! Ja Ne-Matt**


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